After finally closing Google Hangouts for Google Workspace users last March, Google has now started to migrate users of free and personal Google Hangouts accounts to another service: Google Chat.
Google already closed Google Talk earlier this month
Users employing Google Hangouts on their cell phone have started to see a warning message that invites them to switch to Google Chatwhich from now on will be the application that Google recommends to use from mobile devices.
Google Hangouts users on desktop will start seeing similar messages starting in early July, when they will also be invited to migrate to Google Chat.
Both from apps and desktop, Google Hangouts will continue to be accessible until next November. After that, it will close for good so that all Google users will use the same application for making calls and video calls, Google Chat.
All users’ chats will automatically move to Google Chat, where they will find all their account information and history. It will also enable the ability to download all conversations if desired from Google Hangouts.
Google has indicated that during these months of transition it will repeatedly warn users to migrate voluntarily, and that before the mandatory migration in November it will conduct an intense communication campaign to clarify any doubts.
However, so far google’s policy has been very confusing regarding the use of these types of tools, as it had several apps for the same service and users were not very clear what Google Hangouts and Google Chat could be used for.
In fact, the confusion continues, since despite the bet on Google Chat – which was initially paid and in 2021 became free – Google just closed GChat (also called Google Talk) this month. Curiously, Google Hangouts was going to be the service that replaced Google Talk, but now Google Hangouts will also be closed for good.
