Neowin News Feed for: Hangouts

Google announces a complete shift from Hangouts to Chat

Anushe Fawaz — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 19:18:02 +0000

Google has announced its plans to migrate all chat records from Google Hangouts to Google Chat. It is disabling Google Hangouts for all Google Workspace and G Suite users from November 1, 2022. Read more...

Google Hangouts to Chat permanent transition to take place in November 2022

Alap Naik Desai — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 22:14:01 +0000

Google has confirmed that it will permanently shutter Hangouts in November 2022. The platform's website, as well as the service, will remain active, and all the data will transfer to Google Chat. Read more...

Google is automatically signing out Hangouts accounts, hinting at imminent demise

Fiza Ali — Sun, 08 Aug 2021 15:02:01 +0000

Google is taking steps to shut down the Hangouts app but no official end date has been announced yet. However, it is signing out users with free personal accounts to show that Hangouts' end is near. Read more...

Google Chat will be available to everyone next year, replacing Hangouts in Google Workspace

João Carrasqueira — Thu, 15 Oct 2020 17:02:01 +0000

Google's plan to migrate business users to its new Chat platform and replace Hangouts is entering its final stages, and the company is equally bringing the new app to consumers to supersede Hangouts. Read more...

Google unifies all its messaging services under one team

Rajesh Pandey — Fri, 08 May 2020 04:58:01 +0000

Google has made Javier Soltero the head of all its messaging products. Up until now, he was the VP and GM of G Suite but will now also lead the unified team of Messages, Duo, & the Android phone app. Read more...

Google Meet to bring Gmail integration and low-light video improvements

Abhay V — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 19:02:02 +0000

A Google executive listed a few new features coming to Meet, it's paid video conferencing service. It will add a 16-participant grid view to video calls, bring in Gmail integration, and more. Read more...

Google's Hangouts Meet is being rebranded to Google Meet

Rich Woods — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 01:14:01 +0000

Another part of the struggling Google Hangouts brand is disappearing. The company is rebranding its Hangouts Meet service to Google Meet, as is indicated by a Google Cloud blog post. Read more...

Google working on a new unified messaging app for businesses

Rajesh Pandey — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 08:30:01 +0000

Google is working on a new unified messaging app for businesses that will bring "together the functions of several standalone apps" This includes Gmail, Drive, Hangouts Chat, and Hangouts Meet. Read more...

Google delays retirement of classic Hangouts for G Suite until June 2020

Jay Bonggolto — Wed, 21 Aug 2019 20:22:01 +0000

Google is postponing the shutdown of the classic Hangouts for G Suite customers until June 2020 as many users are asking for more time to transition their organization to Hangouts Chat. Read more...

Classic Google Hangouts will start to be phased out in October

Rich Woods — Tue, 22 Jan 2019 21:16:01 +0000

Google today announced the dates that it will begin to phase out Google Hangouts classic for G Suite customers, also saying that consumers will see the service end shortly after that. Read more...

Google's little-used Allo messenger will follow Hangouts into retirement

Paul Hill — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 19:06:01 +0000

Google is expected to shutter its Allo messenger hot on the heels of news that Hangouts would be going away too. The company has been winding down Allo development during this year. Read more...

Hangouts Chat and Meet may become available to non G-suite users in the future

Jay Bonggolto — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 10:56:01 +0000

Following reports about the impending closure of Hangouts sometime in 2020, Google now seems to be working on migrating consumers to Hangouts Meet and Chat, which are currently available on G Suite. Read more...

Google Hangouts will reportedly be going away in 2020

João Carrasqueira — Fri, 30 Nov 2018 22:00:01 +0000

Google's messaging and video app, which has been inactive for a while, is set to be formally killed off sometime in 2020. The Hangouts brand will live on in Google's enterprise offerings. Read more...

EFF's Privacy Badger stops Google's link tracking in latest update

Paul Hill — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 14:00:01 +0000

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has launched a new version of its Privacy Badger extension. The new update now stops Google from tracking links within Hangouts, Docs, and web searches. Read more...

Hangouts Meet third-party integrations are now live for G Suite teams

Jay Bonggolto — Thu, 21 Jun 2018 09:52:05 +0000

Google says that G Suite users can now enable interoperability with third-party systems like Cisco, Polycom, and Skype for Business for Hangouts Meet a few weeks after the integration was announced. Read more...

Google may allow users to chat with Gmail contacts in Allo

Shreyas Gandhe — Mon, 04 Dec 2017 17:26:01 +0000

A recent teardown of the Google Allo app for Android has revealed that users may soon be able to connect with their Gmail contacts, in addition to the phone number linked accounts. Read more...

New study reveals which messaging app saves you the most data

Paul Hill — Tue, 09 May 2017 17:46:04 +0000

A new study conducted by an Italian operator has revealed which popular messaging app consumes the least amount of data when tested under light, medium, and heavy usage. The results vary wildly. Read more...

Google introduces two new Hangouts services for businesses

Rich Woods — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 22:02:01 +0000

Google today announced two new communication services for businesses, called Hangouts Meet and Hangouts Chat, moving further toward transitioning Hangouts into an enterprise platform. Read more...

Google will make Hangouts better suited for business users going forward

Shreyas Gandhe — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 06:44:01 +0000

Google rolled out its new video chat app Duo yesterday, and has now revealed that Hangouts will be increasingly focused towards business users going ahead, though it will still be available for all. Read more...

YouTube reportedly looking to get in on the livestreaming scene with YouTube Connect

Vlad Dudau — Thu, 24 Mar 2016 08:48:01 +0000

According to a credible new report, YouTube is looking to launch a new livestreaming app. This wouldn't be the first time the service tries to promote live videos but this time it may actually succeed Read more...

Facebook testing SMS integration and multiple account support in Messenger

Shreyas Gandhe — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:26:01 +0000

Facebook has been reported to be testing new features with its Messenger app on Android. Some of the noted features are: SMS support and the ability to use multiple accounts in app. Read more...

Google could remove SMS/MMS capabilities in future update to Hangouts

Shreyas Gandhe — Fri, 18 Dec 2015 05:44:01 +0000

Google might once again be rethinking its instant messaging strategy as a new rumour has indicated that the company is testing a new build of Hangouts without SMS support. Read more...

Hangouts can now be accessed through a standalone website

Shreyas Gandhe — Wed, 19 Aug 2015 08:04:01 +0000

To make up for the lack of a desktop client, Google has launched a standalone website for providing access to Hangouts through the browser without the need of any plugins Read more...

Google Hangouts for Android updated to version 4.0

Timi Cantisano — Mon, 10 Aug 2015 18:36:01 +0000

Google has updated 'Hangouts' to version 4.0. The update will bring improvements to the design, functionality and will also decrease battery consumption. The updated app in available for Android. Read more...

Google+ is dead! Long live Photos and Streams and Hangouts

Vlad Dudau — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 10:52:36 +0000

Google+ is finally being killed off and its organs are being donated to other projects. So far, Photos and Streams have been spun off into a separate product, while Hangouts is expected to follow soon Read more...

Google Talk reaches end of life next week

Shreyas Gandhe — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 15:16:01 +0000

Google Talk is set to be discontinued in favour of Hangouts and the desktop application will stop working on February 16, after which users will need to use the Hangouts app for Chrome Read more...

Google could launch its own mobile messenger to compete with WhatsApp

Shreyas Gandhe — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 07:58:01 +0000

According to a new report, Google is planning to launch its own mobile messaging client after its failed bid to acquire WhatsApp and losing market share to other messaging applications of late. Read more...

Google Voice not completely dead, now rolling out to Hangouts

Steven Parker — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 08:24:01 +0000

Earlier this year it was rumored that Google was killing off Google Voice completely, opting instead to integrate VoIP features to Hangouts; that rollout has started and you can migrate to it now. Read more...

Google Voice rumoured to be killed off, Hangouts to get VoIP calling features

Shreyas Gandhe — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 11:08:49 +0000

Google is rumoured to kill off its Google Voice service in the near future and will be integrating VoIP functionality in the Hangouts application on Android and iOS enabling users to make phone calls. Read more...

TechSpot: WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram and other messaging clients compared

Julio Franco — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 10:24:53 +0000

Texting is by far one of the most popular activities on smartphones, here's a feature-by-feature rundown of some of the top clients plus a look at the their data policies. Read more...

Google awarded patent to create comic strips from conversations

Shreyas Gandhe — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 13:21:42 +0000

Google has been awarded a patent by the USPTO which details the process to convert virtual conversations between people into comic strips that can be later shared via various social networks. Read more...

YouTube rolling out live streaming feature to everyone

Steven Parker — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 08:35:55 +0000

YouTube has started rolling out the live streaming feature to all accounts, but only those in "good standing" will be able to use it and users will also need to verify their account to get started. Read more...

Leaked Google Hangouts update show SMS integration

Vlad Dudau — Tue, 08 Oct 2013 09:40:20 +0000

Delivering on a promise made earlier this year it seems like Google is getting ready to ship an updated version of its Hangouts app. The update brings SMS integration, a highly requested feature. Read more...

Google+ gaining traction, may soon rule the world

Christopher White — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 18:20:35 +0000

Google+, the often-mocked social media platform, may by "crazy like a fox" as features from the tool merge into other Google offerings. Do you find yourself using Google+ more as time goes on? Read more...

Google+ Hangouts adds telephone calling support

John Callaham — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 08:31:50 +0000

Google has added a new feature to the Hangouts section of Google+', letting users make phone calls to any cell phone or landline via the PC Hangout feature. Calls to the US or Canada are free. Read more...