Google Hangouts to retire in November 2022

Google has announced that its cross-platform instant messaging service, Hangouts, will retire after nine years. Google Hangouts, introduced in October 2013, will no longer be available from November this year.

The tech giants have asked users to switch to Google Chat in Gmail or the Chat app.

Google has started sending in-app alerts related to the matter and wants users to download all their data from Hangouts before it shuts down. However, Hangouts on the web will continue to be available until the end of 2022.

“People using Hangouts on mobile will see an in-app screen asking them to move to Chat in Gmail or the Chat app. Similarly, people who use the Hangouts Chrome extension will be asked to move to Chat on the web or install the Chat web app. In July, people who use Hangouts in Gmail on the web will be upgraded to Chat in Gmail,” Google wrote in its blog post.

“While we encourage everyone to switch to Chat, Hangouts on the web will continue to be available until later this year. Users will see an in-product notice at least a month before Hangouts on the web starts redirecting to Chat on the web,” it added.

Integrated Experience

Google further said that Chat offers a modern and integrated experience in Google Workspace.

“Moving to Google Chat opens up new and better ways to connect and collaborate. For example, users can edit Docs, Slides, or Sheets with side-by-side editing, making it easier to collaborate while continuing the conversation,” the company stated.

“We have big ambitions for the future of Chat, and over the coming months, you’ll see even more features like direct calling, in-line threading in Spaces, and the ability to share and view multiple images. As we take this final step to bring remaining Hangouts users to Chat, we hope users will appreciate our continued investment in making Chat a powerful place to create and collaborate,” it said.

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