Google is always changing something. I can’t recall the last time I didn’t read about the company changing up something or adding a new feature to one of its existing apps — or even completely killing off one app in favor of another like it did with Hangouts and even Google Assistant. For as long as I can remember now, Google has forced us to have the Google Meet video chat button at the bottom of the Gmail app, at least on Android. While you get used to ignoring it, there’s no arguing that it takes up valuable screen real estate in what should be an app focused solely on emails. Thankfully, someone has figured out how to turn that button off.
According to a recent article from Android Authority, we no longer have to just sit by and try to ignore the ugly Google Meet button at the bottom of our inboxes. Instead, there’s actually a way to turn it off, though it is a little tedious if you have multiple accounts set up in the Gmail app. The main reason is because you seem to have to change the setting for each individual inbox. While that’s annoying, it’s still nice to know that you finally have a bit more control over what you see in your Gmail inbox. If you dislike that Google Meet button like I do, here’s what you need to do to delete it.
Get rid of that annoying Meet button at the bottom of Gmail
To remove the Google Meet tab at the bottom of the Gmail app on Android, open the menu button in the top left-hand corner of the Gmail app. From here, scroll all the way to the bottom of that menu and tap the Settings option.
This will bring up a list that mentions General Settings, as well as an option to select one of your logged in email accounts. Tap the email account that you want to change the setting for. Now, this part may vary depending on which update you have installed for Gmail. But you’re either going to look for a section labeled Meet, or an option that is just labeled Chat.
If you have the Meet section, then tap the checkbox next to Show the Meet tab for video calling. If you have the Chat option, then remove the checkbox next to Show the chat tab.
Yes, this is a very minor change, and while I understand why Google put the Meet tab at the bottom of the app, I still prefer not having it on, especially for every account. For example, I don’t even use Google Meet for my work here at BGR, so why would I want that tab taking up valuable screen real estate in the app? I don’t. It’s that simple. Of course, not all the changes that Google makes to Gmail are bad. It’s Gemini integration has actually proven handy, and I’m a big fan of Google’s Gmail passkey system, which it introduced a couple of years ago.
