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Hangouts Is Shutting Down Soon, Download Your Old Chats Now: How It Works

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The Tech Giant and American browser Google has declared that it will be shutting down its hangouts Platform. The company will upgrade it and replace it with Google Chat as its default application. Users are getting mail from google to download their old chats because all the data will be wiped out if not done. Many Hangout users have already shifted to Google Chats. Just in case you have not, you should download your data before it gets inaccessible.

It is informed that Hangout on the web will be switched from Google Chats as of November 1, 2022.

Google is asking the users who want to back up their Hangout chats to make use of Google takeout and download their data like chats, media, etc. before 1st January 2023. All the Hangouts Data will be deleted by then. It assures the users that Hangouts on the Web and their conversations will be available till 1st November 2022.

Why is Google shifting from Hangouts to Chat?

Google is replacing and preferring Chats over Hangouts because it provides better and close integration with other Google workspace products. Also, there will be advanced and new features available too like a gif picker and Spaces, a steadfast place for the topic-based association. Hangouts App was getting outdated with its current feature set and chats are like a reasonable upgrade to the platform.

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How can Users Download Their Data?

If the user wants to back up or store their data, Google is advising users to use Google Takeout and download a copy of their data like chats, media, etc. before 1st January 2023, as the data will only be available till then. There is a sync established between user chat and Hangouts so that the chats will be deleted if the Hangouts data is deleted. You must be wondering how to download the data from Takeout. You can follow the following steps:

  • Go to Google Takeout Application and Sign in with your Hangouts Google Account.
  • Select Hangouts and unselect the rest options in the available applications.
  • Tap on “Next Step”
  • Choose how often you want to download the backup in the delivery method. It is recommended to select a one-time download since Hangouts is being replaced by Google chats soon.
  • Select the File type.
  • Tap on “Export”
  • There will be a message on your screen, telling you Google is creating a copy of files from Hangouts and you will get an email when the takeout process is complete. Download the file in order to save your Hangouts Data.

For the people who have already migrated from Google Hangouts to Google Chats, the conversations are automatically migrated. So, users can seamlessly pick up from where they left off. They can search for their old messages or media in the new Chats App As well.

What Happens to Deleted Data?

Google states that if the user deletes any of their chats or other data from Hangouts then the data will be deleted from the chat also.

What if the User Doesn’t use Google Chat?

Many Users have switched from Hangouts to Google chats but there are also those people who do not want to. Those people who don’t like the idea of using Google Chats are being advised to stop using the platform entirely. Furthermore, they can delete their chats or their Google account on Hangouts itself. Google is also giving warnings to those who want to delete their account that the deletion will lead to the removal of all the content belonging to the user including their files, photos, emails, and other data.

Chat

Google Decided To Rename Hangouts Chat As Google Chat

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We have used the platform Hangouts at least once in our lifetime. While Google’s other products such as Google Map, Google Drive, Google Music, etc has the brand name at the beginning. The company also decided to change the name of Hangouts chat to Google chat. Google declared it yesterday that it is a simple rebranding from Hangouts to Google. The company has officially removed the name, Hangouts Chat from its enterprise G Suite. Google was planning to do it for a while. It has been noticed that an updated G Suite support document has the mention of Google Meets. And, along with the change of this name of Google’s messaging platform, the company rebranded Hangouts Meet as Google Meet.

The misunderstandings

Similar news might tend to confuse customers at times. Is Hangouts vanishing forever? The answer is no. It will remain as the name of the customer chat app of Google+. Google spun it off in 2013 and since then it has become a standalone product. Since then it has been struggling a lot to compete with other messaging apps and improve reputation. So, all that has changed is the name of Google’s own online instant messaging platform.

Some predicted reasons

The sudden change in the name might not be for any reason. It may look very simple. But, a renowned company like Google wouldn’t make some random decisions. Though many products of Google are used by billions of people around the world, Hangouts didn’t catch much attention. A messaging app like Whatsapp is preferred over Hangouts. Many people don’t even know how to use it because of certain complications like Allo and related services.

But, it seems like this chat service has failed to gain popularity even after many attempts. So, the strategy of rebranding it and appending the word “Google” might drive some topic. One more important thing that is the reason behind every news today is the coronavirus outbreak. The pandemic has caused every employee of the tertiary sector to work from home. And, in this situation, millions of video meetings are taking place via Zoom today.

Those people are using other Google products, Hangouts Meet is certainly cornered. It may be because the name itself doesn’t radiate the vibe of professionalism. This can be another prominent reason for the sudden change in name. But, the company didn’t confirm any of these reasons. They are just a few predictions made by experts.

Few Updates on rebranding

Long before the company released the G Suite document, they planned on changing the brand name. As, both the CEO of Google Cloud and CEO of Google referred to the product as “Meet”. They claimed it to be a shorthand reference until now when it got transferred to Google Meet. Google first released the news of rebranding Google Meet. Then after a few minutes, Google Chat was on the radar as well.

Hangouts Meet to Google Meet

It seems like the company wants its name on every single product it launches. This has led to even renaming Google’s videoconferencing app, Hangouts Meet. Google declared yesterday that from now on it will be known as Google Meet.

New features added to Google Meet

After getting trademarked by the company, Google Meet has included some new features. What could be more perfect timing to give competition to Zoom? The company says that almost 120 million students and teachers use the G Suite for education purposes. So, with the lockdown continuing, Google Meet has tried to make it better for the world.

Whoever is using G Suite for Education and G Suite Enterprise for Education will get premium features for free. And, this offer continues till 30th September 2020. Some of the features include conducting a meeting that can accommodate 250 participants, live streaming for 100,000 viewers (within your domain), and recording meetings followed by saving it in the Google Drive.

Google also claims that all data is encrypted in transit between the customers and the company. This might trigger the audience to use the platform of Google Meet. It is because of the recent compromise in Zoom’s security a few weeks ago. People care about their privacy and they are going to look for the best option.