Google has updated its popular Duo chat app by increasing the group video user limit from 8 to 12 people into a single group call to help more people stay connected and practice social distancing.
The new 12-person limit compares to eight for house party, 32 for Apple’s FaceTime, 50 for Skype and Messenger, and 100 for Zoom’s free tier.
“We are grateful that Duo is helping users see their loved ones all around the world. We recognize group calling is particularly critical right now. We have increased group calling from 8 participants to 12 effective today. More to come,” Google’s senior director of product management Sanaz Ahari Lemelson tweeted on Friday.
She also hinted at more changes that would come soon, without getting into the details. The change is already effective but currently it unclear whether it will be reverted once everything goes back to normal or whether it’s here to stay. Last year, Google added group calling to Duo with an eight-party limit.
Additionally, Google also recently increased the maximum number of participants to 250 for G Suite and G Suite for Education subscribers.