Already in 2018, Google mentioned the possibility of closing Google Hangouts, the Mountain View company’s instant messaging and video conferencing platform. It is now done since June 27: the closure of the messaging service will be effective within a few months and Google is already notifying its users in order to prevent them.
Google Hangouts will bow out in November after nine years
Offered to Internet users on May 15, 2013 during its presentation during Google I/O 2013, Hangouts aimed to offer an instant messaging and videoconferencing service for Google users. Nine years later, Hangouts will gradually close its doors to make way for Google Chat, the communication software that aims to compete with Slack or Microsoft Teams.
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This transition will take place in several stages. First of all, active or inactive Hangouts users have been receiving a notification since June 27 indicating the end of the service in the coming months. It invites its users to join the Google Chat application now. Users of the Hangouts Chrome extension will also receive this notification in the coming days.
Hangouts users will now have to use Google Chat via Gmail or by downloading the dedicated application. Picture: Google.
From Google Hangouts to Google Chat, there is only one step
From July, the version of Google Hangouts integrated with Gmail will disappear and will be automatically replaced by Google Chat. Note that Google Chat has already been available on Gmail accounts since April 2021. As part of this process, conversations stored in Google Hangouts will all be transferred to Google Chat.
In Gmail, it will be possible, thanks to a bar located on the left of the screen, to switch from emails to chat in one click. Picture: Google.
In order to migrate to Google Chat, Hangouts users can directly download the application on their smartphone or tablet, or use the Chat tab on Gmail. There will also be a web version of Google Chat. Finally, in October, Hangouts users on the web will receive a final notification reminding them that the service is closing so they can migrate to Google Chat.
This isn’t the first time Google has tried to harmonize its services with redundant features. Thus, Google Duo and Google Meet should also eventually merge. In November, Hangouts will join the list of services permanently removed by Google, such as Google Toolbar, a toolbar, Google+, a social network, or Google Wave, an all-in-one communication platform.