Google is improving Duo due to increased usage in the pandemic, and the service will soon allow a user to contact others via email address.
The upcoming feature has been leaked by Google member Jane Manchun Wong, who announced the upcoming feature a few days ago. “Google Duo is working on ‘Reachable with email address’ setting,” Wong writes. The new feature, titled “Reachable with email address,” comes with a brief description: “Let people contact you on Duo with your email address.”
Currently, Google users can reach each other by phone number within the Duo app. On the Web, users no longer need a phone number to use the service. Even without a phone number, Duo Web users still need the phone number of persons they contact. The new feature, however, would allow users within the app the ability to contact each other by way of an email address. Users would no longer have to give out their phone number to talk with other users.
Google prepared this feature in advance with the ability to add an email address to a phone number in Version 31 of the app released back in 2018.
Reachable with email address: the benefit
The upcoming email contact feature will give users the ability to hide their phone number from other users. Phone numbers are necessary to contact others in today’s world, especially at work. And yet, phone numbers are personal. Few individuals want to hand out a phone number if they can use an email address. Email addresses seem to be more impersonal. Some users have only one phone number but they have two email addresses (one professional, one personal). Some users want to retain as much privacy as possible. Email addresses seem to be the more convenient option.
In recent days, Google has been improving Duo. Increased usage due to the global pandemic has resulted in some nice changes to the service. Google has increased the number of users in group chat from 8 to 12. Multitasking calls for Duo have been added for Chrome web users. As of last month, Google said it will bring closed captions to Duo voicemail. Closed captions will allow users to read audio voicemail messages when they can’t distinguish words due to background noise or fast talking. And finally, for those who never get enough of noise cancellation, Google is experimenting with WaveNetEQ to hide audio issues on Duo calls. Duo Web users will get to use the service without a phone number, though it’s not clear if Google will free Duo app users from the phone number in the future.