• Google has announced plans to introduce optional end-to-end encryption for all Google Meet meetings in 2022 to meet the strict security requirements in highly regulated sectors, such as the government sector.

• Prior to the launch, Google plans to introduce optional client-side encryption in May 2022 (currently in beta). The feature will provide users direct control of the encryption keys and identity provider used to access those keys.

• Google Meet’s key competitors Zoom and Microsoft Teams already offer end-to-end encryption, with  Zoom offering it for all meetings and Microsoft Teams offering it for 1-on-1 calls.

<ul><li> Analyst QuickTake: Google’s move aims to establish its presence in the market for collaboration tools with high-security standards to compete with Microsoft. Last week, a survey commissioned by Google suggested that a key concern among government workers is the security of Microsoft’s offering, which some sources perceived as an aggressive marketing move by Google against Microsoft. Notably, last week, Microsoft announced a special version of the Office 365 productivity bundle for government and intelligence services with enhanced security features.</ul>