Google Meet pronoun setting: How to change it

Joining a Google Meet call without knowing your fellow participants’ pronouns can be awkward and embarrassing if you’re relying on guessing or assumptions. Likewise, verbally sharing your pronouns on a call isn’t always possible, and it can be exhausting to remind people on call after call.

But Google has made it more convenient for people to seamlessly share their pronouns when using their popular meeting application. This option is available to enterprise users and users of Edu — Google’s service for educational purposes — whose system administrator turned on the pronouns feature.

When pronouns are turned on, they’ll show up next to your picture in Google Meet, in addition to appearing in other products, like Chat, Calendar, and Docs.

Before trying to set your pronouns, test to see if your administrator has turned the option on by clicking on the Pronouns Page. If the option is off, you’ll get an error message. Also remember: this setting is not available to Google users without a business or Edu account.

How to change your pronouns for Google Meet:

Step 1:
Go to the About Me section of your Google Account.

The About Me section can be accessed via this Google permalink. You can also find it by navigating from your account to the personal info tab.

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Step 2:
Select your pronoun setting in the “basic info” box.

The basic info box includes your name, picture, gender, and pronouns. Click pronouns to change them.

Credit: Google

Step 3:
Make your pronoun selection.

When selecting your pronouns, Google offers “she / her,” “he / him,” “they / them,” and “no pronouns set,” in addition to the ability to add custom pronouns. Google reminds users making this selection to keep in mind that “some countries have laws related to gender expression.”

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Credit: Google

Step 4:
Select who can see your pronouns.

Google allows users to select who can see their pronouns. Visibility can be limited to yourself, your organization, or anyone. If you want Meet participants to see your pronouns, select either your organization or anyone.

Credit: Google

If you’re having trouble seeing pronouns in Meet, it may have to do with how you’re joining the call.

Pronoun updates that are visible to others can only be viewed in web-based Meetings or Meet calls. If a mobile device user sets their pronouns then joins a Meet call, you can view their pronouns if you’re on the web. The user on mobile can’t view anyone’s pronouns.