[Update: New workaround] Some Google Meet users want option to disable/hide "You're presenting to everyone" screen during meetings

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…

Original story (published on February 23, 2021) follows:

In our current reality that is the global pandemic, our boardrooms and classrooms have all been replaced with internet-based conferencing tools and services such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet.

As we heavily rely on such applications and tools to perform our daily work-related tasks, it is important that they work all the time and work well.

Google Meet is a favorite for many users owing to the ubiquity of Google Accounts which allows anyone with an Android device or a Gmail account to easily access the platform without the need for signing up.

It is, therefore, no surprise that this platform is a favorite for educators and learners across the globe. However, no single tool is perfect and Google Meet is no exception as there are a few hitches and glitches dogging the service.

See, Google Meet, like many similar platforms, allows users to perform presentations in meetings by sharing their screen to all members present.

Annoyingly, when presenting in the meeting, Google Meet gives you a notification of the same and some users feel like it is a little too intrusive.

When I present, I am getting the side-by-side screens, but I cannot see the screen I have shared (that is, I can’t verify what others are viewing from my screen). I only see the graphic “You’re presenting to everyone” on Google Meet. How do I change that?
Source

Below is a screenshot of the Google Meet screen in question.

As a result, regular users of this platform (1, 2, 3) are asking Google to work on an option that would let them disable or hide this ‘You’re presenting to everyone’ screen.

Initially, many of these users used the grid view extension to get past this obnoxiously massive banner but now, even that seems to be broken.

See, recently, Google pushed out an update to Google Meet, an update that reportedly broke the grid view extension support. Google says that the issue is being looked into and you can learn more about that here.

Sometime last year, this same issue was brought to the attention of Google and a Product expert was then quoted saying that the request for an option to disable this banner had been escalated.

…There are currently no options to remove the annoying message. I will escalate your request….
Source

For a product that is becoming as invaluable as Google Meet owing to the current global circumstances, we can only hope that Google works with speed to fix this and other issues faced by users.

We shall be on hand to update as and when we get more info on this so stay tuned to PiunikaWeb for more.

05:14 pm (IST): The issue may still not have been officially acknowledged by Google, but there is now a new workaround available that will make it a bit less frustrating.

Simply hold down the Ctrl key and use the mouse’s scroll wheel to zoom out the Google Meet view. This will help reduce the size of the “You’re presenting to everyone” screen considerably and will make it more tolerable.

For details, check this video out.

12:14 pm (IST): For those of you who which to hide the “You’re presenting to everyone” screen while presenting and see all your students, here’s a user-shared workaround shared in the following video:

NOTE: We have these and many more Google stories in our dedicated Google section.

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