Google is ending the Hangouts instant messaging app for good

Google Hangouts is one of the most influential names in chat programs and for years it has been competing with similar applications, especially in the business and office side, but the moment has come for good.

Google decided to terminate the application, and confirmed that as of November 1, 2022, Hangouts on the web will no longer be available to users as it looks to update the Google Workspace suite to be as efficient for users as possible.

Instead, users will now be directed to Google Chat as the company looks to continue its transition to a more standardized instant messaging service.

Users looking to access the Hangouts website will now see a message that states, “Starting November 1, 2022, Hangouts on the web will redirect to Chat on the web. We recommend that you go to Chat now.”

Google shut down the Android and iOS version of the app in July 2022, with the Oficial Hangouts Chrome extension also shutting down shortly after, according to techradar.

Google says that while most messages and contacts should move to the new service, some conversations or parts of conversations won’t automatically move from Hangouts to Chat, even though affected users should already have been contacted.

Users can continue to use Google Takeout to download their Hangouts data until January 1, 2023.

The company first began upgrading enterprise and business users of Classic Hangouts to Google Chat in March 2022.

Mobile users started seeing in-app alerts for switching to Chat in Gmail or the Chat app in June, with web users upgraded in July.

Google Chat Director Ravi Caniganti wrote at the time, “Google Chat brings a modern, integrated experience into Google Workspace. We have big ambitions for the future of chat, and over the coming months you’ll see more features such as: direct calls, internal threads in spaces, and the ability to share and view multiple photos. “.

“As we take this latest step to bring our remaining Hangouts users into Chat, we hope that users will appreciate our continued investment in making Chat a powerful place to create and collaborate.”