Google Chat

Google Chat is a communication software developed by Google. Initially designed for teams and business environments, it has since been made available for general consumers. It provides direct message, group conversations, and spaces, which allow users to create and assign tasks and share files in a central place in addition to chatting. It can be accessed through its own website and app or through the Gmail website and app.

Not to be confused with Google Talk.
For the feature in Google Messages, see Rich Communication Services.
Google Chat
Screenshot
Screenshot of the interface of the Google Chat website
Developer(s)Google
Initial releaseMarch 9, 2017 (2017-03-09)
PlatformAndroid, iOS, Web
TypeCommunication software
LicenseFreeware
Websitechat.google.com

It was first launched on March 9, 2017 as Hangouts Chat as one of the two apps that constitute the replacement for Google Hangouts, the other being Google Meet. It was renamed to Google Chat on April 9, 2020. It was initially only available for Google Workspace customers, but in February 2021, Google began rolling out Google Chat in "early access" to regular consumer accounts until it became fully available in April 2021. Google has plans to deprecate Google Hangouts and replace it with Google Chat in early 2022.

History
Logo of Google Chat used from 2017 to October 2020

Google Chat was first launched as Hangouts Chat on March 9, 2017 for Google Workspace (called G Suite until October 2020[1]) customers only as a replacement for Google Hangouts.[2] All G Suite packages had identical features except for a lack of Vault data retention in the Basic package.[3]

On April 9, 2020, Google rebranded Hangouts Chat to Google Chat. Following this rebranding, and along with a similar change for Hangouts Meet, the Hangouts brand is to be removed from Google Workspace.[2]

Migration from Hangouts

Google first announced their plan to begin retiring Google Hangouts in October 2019.[4] In October 2020, Google announced that it would open Google Chat up to consumers in 2021. Google also announced that Hangouts conversations, contacts, and history would be migrated over to Google Chat.[5]

Google Chat began to roll out to consumer accounts in "early access" in February 2021,[6][7] but at the time Google stated that Hangouts would remain a consumer-level product for people using standard Google accounts.[8][9][10] By April 2021, Google Chat became fully available for free as an "early access" service, for users who choose to use it instead of Hangouts.[11]

In August 2021, Google started automatically signing out Google Hangouts users on iOS and Android and notifying them to switch to Google Chat.[12]

Google plans to deprecate Google Hangouts and replace it with Google Chat in early 2022.[13] In February 2022, Google announced plans to begin the final migration of all Google Workspace customers from Google Hangouts to Google Chat, which is scheduled to be finalized in May 2022.[14]

Features

Google Chat is divided into two sections, chat and spaces. The Chat section contains direct conversations with other people and group conversations. In addition to be able to access Google Chat from its website and app, Google Chat can also be accessed through its integration with the Gmail website and app.[5]

Spaces
Not to be confused with Google Spaces.
A screenshot of a Google Chat space, shows the three tabs on the top, Chat, Files, and Tasks

Spaces, originally called Rooms, are a group chat room where people can chat, share files, and assign tasks. Each space has three tabs, a chat tab for chatting, a files tab for sharing files, and a tasks tab for creating and assigning tasks.[15]

Spaces are designed for collaboration on long-term projects. In contrast to spaces, group conversations only support chatting and do not have any task functionality or a separate files tab to view a list of shared files.[16] Spaces also allow users to change the name of the chat, which is not possible with group conversations, and they allow users to only be notified when they are mentioned.[15]

See also
  • Google Talk, a defunct instant messaging service released by Google in 2005
  • Google Allo, a defunct instant messaging service released by Google in 2016

References
  1. "Announcing Google Workspace, everything you need to get it done, in one location". Google Cloud Blog. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  2. Statt, Nick (April 9, 2020). "Google is rebranding Hangouts Chat as just Google Chat". The Verge.
  3. "Compare G Suite products - Chat". gsuite.google.com. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  4. de Looper, Christian. "Google will begin shutting down the classic Hangouts app in November 2020". DigitalTrends.com. Archived from the original on August 4, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  5. "The latest on Google Hangouts and the upgrade to Google Chat". Google. 2020-10-15. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  6. Bradshaw, Kyle (2021-02-10). "Google Chat readies beta preview for Hangouts users". 9to5Google. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  7. Li, Abner (2021-02-24). "Google Chat 'preview' starts rolling out to some classic Hangouts users". 9to5Google. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  8. Statt, Nick (2020-04-09). "Google is rebranding Hangouts Chat as just Google Chat". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  9. April 2020, Mike Moore 10. "Google Hangouts officially rebrands as Google Chat". TechRadar. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  10. Smith, Chris (2020-04-10). "Google's messaging apps just got more confusing: Meet and Chat". BGR. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  11. "New Gmail with Google Chat tabs rolling out for free accounts, here's how to turn on". 9to5Google.com. 2021-04-04. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
  12. Li, Abner (2021-08-06). "Google signing free users out of Hangouts for iOS, Android as part of 'switch to Chat' prompt". 9to5Google. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  13. "Google Chat upgrade timeline - Google Workspace Admin Help". support.google.com. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  14. "Classic Hangouts will be upgraded to Google Chat beginning March 22, 2022". Google Workspace Updates. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
  15. "Google Chat: What's the Difference Between Spaces (Rooms) and Group Chat". Nerds Chalk. 2021-10-07. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
  16. "About spaces and group conversations - Google Chat Help". support.google.com. Retrieved 2022-03-22.

Further reading
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.