Google Meet is convenient: one click in the calendar and the meeting is set. If you already use Gmail and Google Workspace, it takes almost no effort. For confidential conversations, though, a different question matters: who besides the participants can listen in? This is where Briefing and Google Meet differ fundamentally.
In short
| Briefing | Google Meet | |
|---|---|---|
| Account to start a call | no | yes, Google account |
| Guests without an account | yes | yes, in the browser |
| End-to-end encryption | always | only with client-side encryption in top Workspace plans |
| Can the provider decrypt video and audio? | no | by default yes (Google data centers) |
| Path of video and audio | directly between browsers | through Google’s servers |
| Time limit on the free offering | none | 60 minutes with three or more people |
| Self-hostable | yes | no |
| Server location | official instance in Germany, or your own server | Google infrastructure |
| Calendar, Gmail, recording, captions | no | yes (recording depending on plan) |
| Large groups | no | yes |
As of October 2026, information about Google Meet based on its public documentation.
Encryption: encrypted is not the same as end-to-end
Google Meet encrypts every connection - but by default in a way that lets Google’s data centers decrypt the media in addition to the participants. True end-to-end encryption that keeps Google out is available as client-side encryption only in the top Workspace plans (such as Enterprise Plus), with your own key service and identity provider, set up by IT administration. Features that need server-side processing are unavailable then.
In Briefing, end-to-end encryption is the only mode - free, for everyone, no setup. Video and audio go directly between browsers, everything else is additionally encrypted with a key that lives only in the link and never reaches the server. There is no provider in the middle you would have to trust.
No Google account
To start a meeting in Google Meet you need a Google account. Guests can join in the browser without one, but the meeting itself always belongs to an account.
Briefing has no accounts. Whoever opens a room is as anonymous as everyone else. The server does not even know the room’s name, only an id that cannot be reversed.
No time limit
On free Google Meet, calls with three or more people end after 60 minutes. Only a Workspace subscription raises the limit.
Briefing has no time limit. Video and audio do not pass through our servers, so there is nothing for us to limit.
Data in Germany - or with you
The official Briefing instance runs exclusively in data centers in Germany. Nothing of the conversation is stored there: video, audio, chat, files and whiteboards exist only in the participants’ browsers. If you want even more control, run Briefing as a single Docker image on your own server.
When Google Meet is the better choice
- You already work in Google Workspace and want meetings straight from Calendar and Gmail.
- You need recording, live captions, transcription or phone dial-in.
- You regularly meet in large groups.
When Briefing is the better choice
- The conversation is confidential, and nobody but the participants should be able to listen in.
- Nobody should need a Google account.
- You want to talk without a time limit and without a subscription.
- You are a small group: family, counseling, a small team.
More comparisons: Briefing compared. The technology in detail: How Briefing works.