When people see the phrase “peer to peer connection”, a lot would probably assume we’re talking about torrents and illegal downloads, since that is the most popular way that people use to share files. But you also can use P2P to have better quality connections, and it looks like that is what Google is banking on as they add it to the backend options for Google Hangouts. A spokesperson has confirmed that “when possible”, the messaging app will switch to P2P connections to improve call quality and speed.
A reddit user first spotted this on their Google Hangouts for Android app. When an online news outlet reached out to the tech giant, a spokesman confirmed that they are indeed switching to P2P whenever the quality of the call needs to be improved and it is possible. And if you go to the Help section of Hangouts, you’ll find a support document to explain this away. It says that instead of your call going through Google’s servers, it “efficiently routes” your call directly to the person you’re talking to.
So that means, you’re letting Google know your location through your IP address, which may be a source of concern for some. But it looks like there is no way to show that IP address through the Hangouts app interface. Skype is one of those communication apps that use P2P connection for their calls but it is only lately that they hid the IP addresses by default.
The peer-to-peer functionality has rolled out not just for Google Hangouts for Android but also for all the other platforms where it is available. Since this is a small backend upgrade, you probably won’t notice the update, but it’s there and it’s important to improve the quality of your calls.
VIA: Venture Beat
