Google has announced that the company is ready to move into the final stages of migration from classic Hangouts to Google Chat for Google Workspace (previously G Suite) customers. Starting March 22, 2022, Google Chat will become the default chat platform for customers who are still using the Hangouts app for iPhone and Android smartphones. Now, the Google Chat app is available in two ways – it integrates directly into Gmail that needs to be enabled manually, and is a standalone app on Google Play and the App Store. The change from Hangouts to Chat has been happening for some time, and users can already notice the changes. Notably, users can also see a prompt that warns about upcoming changes.
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What is happening to Google Hangouts after March 22, 2022?
In a blog post, Google states that Hangouts.google.com will continue to operate. It is not possible to opt-out of this change. However, when users visit the classic Hangouts in Gmail on the web or the classic Hangouts mobile application, they will be directed to the chat. The company says that from March 22, the final transition will take about three weeks.
Google highlights, “After upgrading a domain to ‘Chat Favorites’, all classic Hangouts applications, except hangouts.google.com, will be disabled. Additionally, ‘Chat & Classic Hangouts’ and ‘Classic Only’ will be available from the Admin console.” Hangouts’ settings will be removed”.
Users should note that the transition does not mean that they will lose old chats on Hangouts. Except in “certain cases,” all conversation history from Hangouts will be available in Google Chat. However, for users to use Google Chat, any new changes to the platform will not reflect on classic Hangouts.
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As a part of the new update, Google Chat will be available to all customers – both regular and paid customers. Earlier, the chat app was only available to paid customers (Google Workspace).
Why is Google making this change?
The answer to this question is simple, but the process is a bit complicated. Google is heavily upgrading its workspace station to include Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Meet, Chat, and more. Centrally, Gmail aims to be the main hub offering integrated services like Chat and Meet, which means users don’t need to download a standalone app. However, the standalone app will provide access to more settings and features.
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To complicate the process, Google initially offered a separate chatting platform called GChat which was phased out in 2017. It was replaced by Hangouts which is now being replaced by Google Chat.
To enable Chat on Gmail web, go to Settings > Chats & Meet > Select Google Chat.
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