Most browsers nowadays are just using the same Chromium engine found in Google Chrome. That means most sites work the same in all Chromium-based browsers, since those sites are tested in the most in Chrome, but they might run into issues on Firefox or Safari. Google’s web apps have been far from perfect on Firefox over the past few years, but now many of them are working better than ever in Mozilla’s web browser, even Google Meet.
If you’ve been contemplating switching to Firefox, but are concerned about the compatibility of those Google Workspace apps, such as Google Meet, you can put your worries to rest. While Mozilla insists that Google Workspace apps already work great on Firefox, owing to a collaborative effort with the Workspace team, some features in Google Meet and other apps were still broken. Many of those issues have now been addressed, thanks to a collaboration between Google and Mozilla.
If you’re looking to add some video effects to your next call or need to blur your background during online work meetings, Firefox version 115 or higher now supports these features. In the waiting room before your call, you can select “Apply visual effects,” represented by a button with sparkles, which will provide you with the standard Google Meet filter options. Additionally, if you’re already in a call, you can access “More Options” (the three-dot button) in the menu bar at the bottom of the page and choose “Apply visual effects.” Visual effects on Google Meet while using Firefox were unsupported before, and trying to use them would lead to a message saying that “This browser does not support visual effects.”
Google apps such as Google Docs, Google Slides, Gmail, and all others are already working great on Firefox, and it’s good to see Google willing to commit to improving its experience on non-Chromium browsers and not committing to gatekeeping — not this way, at least. If you want to use these new video calling features on Firefox, you should update your browser now if you haven’t in a while — this change might take a few days to roll out to everyone, so don’t be surprised if you need to wait it out.
Source: Mozilla (1, 2)
