3 Nov 2026

How to Blur Part of Your Screen in Google Meet

Google Meet blurs a camera background, so cover part of a Chrome tab before you present that tab.

Blur part of a Google Meet screen by covering that part of a Chrome tab, then presenting the tab. As of 3 November 2026, Google's backgrounds and effects article documents blur as a camera effect, and the present article lets you present a tab, a window, or your entire screen. Cover the region on the page before you click Present now.

Does Meet have a built-in partial blur?

No. As of 3 November 2026, Google Meet Help does not document a blur, mask, or redaction for part of a presented tab, window, or screen.

The blur Meet documents is the camera. Before you join, Change backgrounds and effects puts one-click blur on the self view. During a meeting, Video settings has Blur background, and the Backgrounds and effects panel lists Slightly blur your background and Blur your background. Sensitive information in the room behind you might still be visible. The control depends on the client, the account, and Workspace admin settings.

Present during a video meeting shares a whole tab, window, or screen: Present now, that choice, then Share. The camera tile can stay on screen beside the tab. A pixelated share is a picture-quality problem. Other pages for this search are mostly small tool blogs and Mac apps.

Should you present a tab or the whole screen?

Present the Chrome tab that holds the page. Google's troubleshooting article says a Chrome tab is how you get the full set of present features.

The present article offers three choices after Present now:

• A tab sends that browser tab. Share this tab instead switches tabs. The article recommends a different tab or window from the meeting window, to prevent mirroring.
• A window sends one application window, including its title bar and toolbars. Also share system audio is optional.
• Your entire screen sends that display, including other windows and notifications. Layout help says to move this share to another monitor when you can.

A window or entire-screen share can include Chrome's toolbar, notifications, and other programs. Present the tab for a web page. For a desktop-only app, open its web version in Chrome when it has one. An admin or the host can turn sharing off.

On a Docs, Sheets, or Slides tab, Meet can offer to grant access and put the file in chat and on the Calendar event. Skip that unless the call should open the file.

How do you blur parts of a Chrome tab before presenting?

Open the page in Chrome, cover what the call should not read, read the tab yourself, then present that tab.

PlainBlur is a Chrome extension. It blurs an element you click or an area you drag before you share your screen, in the top frame of a Chrome page only. Desktop apps, operating-system notifications, and Chrome's own interface stay outside it, so a Chrome tab is the case it fits. Reload behavior is in blur a page before you share your screen. It is not a feature of Google Meet or of Chrome.

1. Open the page in a Chrome tab. Keep Meet in another tab or window.
2. Press Alt+Shift+E to click a field or paragraph, or Alt+Shift+A to drag a rectangle. Shortcuts are under How it works.
3. Press Alt+Shift+B, confirm the parts you will discuss, then press it again so the covers show.
4. Click Present now, choose A tab, select that tab, and click Share.
5. Check the shared tab. If a value is still readable, or a scrolling panel moves the text, stop presenting and fix the cover.

The page is not uploaded. Blurring is a best-effort visual aid. It can miss text, images, canvases, and iframes. A short flash of the unblurred page is possible. It is not a privacy or compliance guarantee.

The cover you draw is on that page while you use it. Free keeps manual blur on the first site. Pro is $49 once for one browser. Team is $99 once for five browsers. Auto-blur, on Pro and Team, looks for emails, phone numbers, API keys, amounts, and card-like numbers. Other text, including a name, needs a click or a drag. Prices are in the pricing section. Checkout starts from the extension popup. This website does not take payment.

How do you toggle the blur mid-call?

Click the presented Chrome tab so it is active, then press Alt+Shift+B. That shortcut shows or hides the blurs, and the tab you are already presenting updates while the share continues.

The shortcut uses the active tab in the Chrome window in front. Click Chrome if another app is in front, and click the presented tab if Meet is the active one. Press Alt+Shift+B again before you continue. Alt+Shift+E and Alt+Shift+A add a cover during the call. To edit off the share, stop presenting, fix the page, and present the tab again. Share this tab instead sends a different tab, so set covers on that page first.

The camera control is separate: Video settings, then Blur background, in the backgrounds article. Alt+Shift+B changes the tab.

What can the call still see after the tab is covered?

Anything outside the top frame of that Chrome page can still be readable. The cover is a visual aid on the presented page. Opening the file elsewhere still shows the original.

• A window or entire-screen share can show the address bar, tab strip, bookmarks, notifications, and other windows.
• An image, a canvas, or an iframe can stay sharp. Drag an area over it and look again.
• A Doc, Sheet, or Slide in Meet chat is the file, not the blurred picture.
• The camera tile is the room. A background change can still leave sensitive information visible.
• A new cover can flash the page. Pause before you point at that spot.

If a value is still readable, stop presenting or cover it. The blur is only on the browser you are sharing. It is not a privacy or compliance guarantee.