Google Meet began in 2017 as Hangouts Meet before Google renamed the service to Google Meet in 2020. Its use exploded during the shift to remote work and online schooling, which turned everyday interface sounds from the app into shared cultural cues. The ringtone spread through screen recordings, classroom memes and short videos where playing it could instantly suggest homework, attendance or an unwanted work call. Because millions heard it daily, the chime remains a shorthand online for the moment a call connects and everyone has to pay attention.