Google will close Hangouts at the end of this year
In February, Google replaced the Hangouts app for Workspace users with a new “Google Chat.” The company is now set to end old Hangouts at the end of the year and move all current users to the Google Chat platform.
Google revealed in a new blog post that Hangouts will be phased out in November 2022, with users of computers and mobile devices being asked in advance to switch to Google Chat. Chat data from the Hangouts platform is automatically available for Google Chat, and users also have the option to download all of their Hangouts data before uninstalling the platform.
“From now on, people using Hangouts on mobile devices will see an app screen asking them to switch to Gmail Chat or Chat. Similarly, people using the Hangouts extension for Chrome will be asked to switch to web chat or install the web app. “In July, people using Gmail Hangouts on the site will be upgraded to Gmail Chat,” Google said in a post.
Google also mentioned that Hangouts users will continue to see notifications on for at least one month before the Hangouts site is removed. Then Hangouts visitors will automatically start redirecting to Google Chat.
Hangouts was introduced in 2013 and is a planned successor to GChat (not to be confused with the newer Google Chat). GChat, or as some know, Google Talk, ended earlier this month, and after Hangouts met a similar fate later this year, Google Chat seems to be the latest test. to allow Google to provide chat services. seamlessly integrated instant messaging on all devices.
