Google Meet update shuts the door on gatecrashers once and for all

Do you remember when “Zoom bombing” was all over the news? While the frenzy has died down, the threat to your online privacy and productivity never really went away. If you have an old Google Meet link in a recurring calendar event, it could be an easy way in for unwanted guests. To address that concern, Google has rolled out a new update that helps keep gatecrashers out for good whenever you change a meeting’s recurrence or start time in Google Meet.

Google recently shared in a Workspace blog that now, when you edit a recurring meeting series — like changing the start time or how often it repeats — you’ll automatically get a new, unique Meet link for the future events. All your original settings (hosts, co-hosts, access restrictions, and recording permissions) will stay the same. Before the latest tweak, when you made changes to a recurring calendar event with a Meet link, the link would stay the same.

And there’s the rub. If you use the same link for several meetings, it’s like using the same key for different rooms. Anyone who has the old link, whether on purpose or by accident, could join your future meetings, and this makes it easier for uninvited guests to show up.

When a new link is created after you change important details of a recurring event, it lets you update your invite list and make your meetings more secure. This pairs nicely with Meet’s current access controls, where you can decide who needs approval to join and who can enter directly.

For organizations or schools managing dozens of recurring meetings, this is a subtle but meaningful improvement to meeting hygiene. That said, Google notes that the first version of the meeting series keeps its original Meet link.

This update is live now for all Google Workspace customers and regular Google account owners.