Google launched Duo, its popular video calling app, alongside Allo back in 2016. While Allo, the messaging app, was retired in favor of RCS in Android Messages, Google Duo has been going strong. The app has received several new features over the last couple of months, including home calling and call reminders, a new low light mode for better video quality in the dark, a new dark theme, and more. Most recently, the app received new emoji reactions to video messages and now, Google is adding new notes and doodles to Duo.

As per a recent report from Android Police, the latest update for Google Duo brings a new feature that will allow users to draw notes on the app. In a statement regarding the feature, Google said, "We're introducing this feature as we got feedback from users that they're looking for a more visual way to connect with their friends when one of them may be unavailable to get on a video call...They'd like to send a brief one-off note within Duo, whether that can be 'hey, let's talk today!', or 'sending one last good night!'."

The new feature looks quite a lot like the annotations feature found on Google's note-taking app Keep. It includes multiple pen stroke types, eight background colors, and six different fonts. Much like video calls on Google Duo, these new notes are end-to-end encrypted, stubbing any privacy concerns. The new notes feature is rolling out to Google Duo starting today and should reach all users by the end of the week. At the time of writing, the feature wasn't available on any of my devices.


Via: Android Police