Last month Google announced that they were bringing simple invite links to Google Duo to allow group video calling easier. Unfortunately the option has not been available for users yet but now it appears to be rolling out inside a new update to the Duo app.
Android Police have reported that with version 89 of Google Duo link sharing is now available. To use the feature all you have to do it to create a group by adding at least one member and the invite link will appear. It can easily be copied and shared to another app or shared using the Android sharing interface. The link will also appear while in the middle of a chat so you can invite other users on the fly.
When someone clicks on the link it will open in Duo and offer to show that person the other members of the group before they join — they can decline if they wish to of course. At this stage it is only available on mobile.
It seems that not only do you need version 89 of the Duo app but it also needs to be switched on server-side but it is working for us already — YMMV. At this stage the group is limited to 12 people but Google is apparently looking to expand that to 32 in the coming weeks.
Google are working feverishly to improve their video calling services to try and catch up with other services such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom. Hopefully they continue to do so even after the pandemic is over.
