# Unsqueeze: Anamorphic Webcam Correction for Google Meet > A free, open-source Chrome extension that corrects anamorphic webcam video for Google Meet, with squeeze presets, custom ratios, and local processing. Canonical URL: https://smallweblab.com/posts/unsqueeze/ Published: 2026-09-18 Modified: 2026-09-18 Author: SmallWebLab Category: Tools Tags: Chrome Extension, Google Meet, Anamorphic, Webcam, Open Source, Codex [Download Unsqueeze for Chrome](https://github.com/RamonLinares/unsqueeze/releases/latest/download/Unsqueeze.zip) · [Source code and installation guide](https://github.com/RamonLinares/unsqueeze) I wanted to use my camera with a 1.5× anamorphic lens for Google Meet calls. The camera already worked as a USB webcam, but the image arrived squeezed: faces looked too narrow, and Meet had no control to correct the proportions. I built Unsqueeze with Codex to handle that correction inside Chrome. It processes the selected camera's video before Meet sends it to the other participants. The result worked in my own call setup, and I have now released the extension on GitHub under the MIT license. ## Correcting the outgoing image An anamorphic lens compresses the scene horizontally. With a 1.5× lens, restoring its proportions means expanding the horizontal dimension by that factor relative to the vertical dimension. Correcting only the appearance of the local preview would leave everyone else seeing the squeezed image. Unsqueeze works on the camera stream supplied to Meet. Other participants receive the corrected video, while microphone tracks pass through unchanged. In Meet's settings, I still select my normal camera; the extension does not add a separate camera device. There are two framing choices. **Fill the call** crops equal amounts from the sides to fill the video frame. **Keep the whole image** preserves the scene with black bars above and below. Both restore proportions; the choice is how much of the wider image to keep. The extension is independent of camera and lens brands. It works with the video feed Chrome already recognizes, whether that comes from a USB camera, capture device, or camera utility. That still requires a working webcam setup: Unsqueeze does not supply drivers or make a camera available to Chrome on its own. ## Presets and custom factors The first version was tailored to my own lens. Turning it into something useful to other people meant removing that assumption from the name and controls. The current release offers presets for **1×, 1.25×, 1.33×, 1.5×, 1.6×, 1.8×, and 2×**, alongside a custom field from **1× to 3×** in 0.01 increments. The two controls stay synchronized. Typing a known factor selects its preset; another value selects Custom. An optional camera-name filter limits correction to a particular camera. That is useful when switching between an anamorphic setup and a laptop webcam. With a regular lens, correction should be off or set to 1×. If another camera utility already desqueezes the image, it should only be corrected once. The preview also includes a moving test pattern that needs no camera access. It simulates a fixed 1.5× squeezed source: at a 1.5× setting, its circle becomes round and its grid cells become square. The screenshot above shows that corrected pattern and the current controls. ## Reducing processing work Heat became a concern during development. An unrelated development process accounted for part of the load on my computer, but it was also a reason to examine the extension's frame processing more carefully. Unsqueeze now defaults to **Efficient**, which caps corrected output at 1280×720 and 30 frames per second. **Low power** lowers those limits to 640×360 and 24 fps. **Source quality** keeps the incoming resolution and frame rate for people who prefer that tradeoff. Excess frames are dropped before drawing. With correction off or a 1× factor, frames pass through without a canvas redraw. Compatible cameras are also asked for lighter capture modes, while respecting the call's required constraints. In a controlled comparison using 120 synthetic 1080p frames with 60 fps timestamps, Efficient rendered 77.8% fewer output pixels than the earlier processing path. Low power rendered 95.6% fewer. Those are reductions in rendering work, not measured reductions in CPU use or temperature. Meet still has to encode and transmit video, and its effects and other participants add their own load. The [performance notes](https://github.com/RamonLinares/unsqueeze/blob/main/PERFORMANCE.md) describe the measurement and its limits. For a less demanding setup, choose Low power and restart Meet's camera so the capture request can change too. Stop the standalone preview before using the camera in a call. ## Install it from GitHub The release is a ready-to-use ZIP. No terminal, Git, or build tools are needed. 1. [Download Unsqueeze.zip](https://github.com/RamonLinares/unsqueeze/releases/latest/download/Unsqueeze.zip) and extract it. 2. Move the **Unsqueeze** folder somewhere permanent, such as Documents. Keep it there while the extension is installed. 3. Open `chrome://extensions` in desktop Chrome and turn on **Developer mode**. 4. Click **Load unpacked** and select the Unsqueeze folder that directly contains `manifest.json`. 5. Pin the extension, choose the squeeze factor specified for your lens, and reload any open Google Meet tabs. In Meet, select your camera as usual. The download includes an offline **START-HERE.html** guide. The [full installation guide](https://github.com/RamonLinares/unsqueeze/blob/main/docs/INSTALL.md) covers updates, camera permissions, and common setup problems. This is a manual GitHub installation, so updates are manual too. Replace the files in the same folder, click Reload on the extension's Chrome card, and reload Meet. Installing a second copy can apply the correction twice. Managed work or school browsers may restrict unpacked extensions. ## What has been checked The release passed nine automated geometry and settings tests. Browser checks covered frame proportions, resolution and frame-rate caps, bypass behavior, camera cleanup, cloned tracks, audio lifetime, and a local WebRTC connection. The presets and custom values were checked for persistence and synchronization. The published ZIP was downloaded again and compared with the verified package. My real-camera confirmation was on macOS with Google Meet in desktop Chrome. Other operating systems, browsers, calling services, and camera combinations have not been verified. This is a browser extension for Meet, not a system-wide virtual camera for desktop calling apps. Video processing stays on the device. Unsqueeze has no recording, analytics, account, or upload service; Google Meet still transmits the call normally. Preferences and the latest camera-status message are stored locally in Chrome. The repository includes [privacy details](https://github.com/RamonLinares/unsqueeze/blob/main/PRIVACY.md), the source, tests, and the MIT license for anyone who wants to inspect or adapt it.