Google Starts Redirecting Users to Google Chat ahead of Hangouts Shutdown

Google will start migrating all users on its messaging service, Hangouts to Chat before it is permanently discontinued in November. The company pulled the plug for Hangouts users on Google Workspace in February, and has started prompting personal email users to switch from Hangouts to Chat, which is now the company’s default messaging service.

The tech giant says it will keep prompting users to switch the service until July and will warn users at least one month in advance before it starts redirecting the Hangouts website to Chats before November when it will shut down the service. The migration is not optional, meaning all users will be automatically migrated to the new service.

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This is not the first time the tech giant is evolving its messaging strategy. Google discontinued its original messaging app GChat or Google Talk in 2017 before the transition to Hangouts in the same year.

If you’re still using Hangouts, Google should transfer your existing interactions to Chat automatically. You can also use the Takeout service to download a copy of your Hangouts data before it is officially discontinued in November.

The company announced the development of Google Chat in 2020. It has added a number of features to make Chat even more attractive. Users will be able to make direct calls, share images and create threads.

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