Google is beginning the forced migration from Hangouts to Chat next year

Google will officially transition users from Google Hangouts to Google Chat starting next year. As part of the switch, Chat, a electronic messaging service antecedently only available to customers who pay for Google Workspace (the recent rebranding of G Suite), will turn a free inspection and repair that's available inside of Gmail and in a standalone app. And some Hangouts features wish represent going away ahead of its disappearance.

The modulation from Hangouts to Chat will begin sometime in the premiere incomplete of 2021, when Google will offer tools to help automatically take your Hangouts conversations, contacts, and schmoose chronicle to Schmooze, according to a blog post. Information technology's unclear what steps will be required for that migration, but Google says it volition share guidance at some target.

This move off from Hangouts isn't entirely unexpected — Google said in Dec 2018 that IT planned to migrate Hangouts users to Confabulate and Meet at much point. Google clarified a few more details virtually the change with The Verge after the freehand publication of this story.

The switch from Hangouts to Chat will drive place bit by bit, and there will be a period of time when both electronic messaging services are still available. Eventually, all free users and Workspace customers wish be moved terminated to Schmoose. At one time that's done, then Chat will fully replace Hangouts.

Every bit for why you'd want to rise from Hangouts to Chat before you're forced to, there are both carrots and sticks. On the plus side, Google says Chat non only offers features like direct and group conversations you might be familiar with from Hangouts, just it can also let you Sir Thomas More easily plan and collaborate with others.

As far arsenic push you away from Hangouts, Google besides announced that it is planning to murder some specific Hangouts features. If you're a Google Fi user, Google leave stop letting you manage texts and phone calls from Hangouts at some point early next year. Instead, though, you'll be able to migrate existing Hangouts conversations to Google's Messages app and manage Fi texts and calls in the Messages app for the web starting "in the next few weeks." But if they want to use Google's "custom Messages features" for Google Fi, they'll have to disable RCS. The electronic messaging mess continues.

Google also plans to remove Google Vocalize support from Hangouts early next yr, meaning you won't be able-bodied to take calls from Voice in Hangouts. You'll have to use the dedicated Voice app for Google Part texts and calls instead. In gain, Google will No thirster let you call phone numbers from Hangouts starting early next year, and group video calls in Hangouts leave use Run into starting in November.

Update October 15th, 6:55PM ET: Google shared additional details with The Verge about the passage after the original publication of this story, so we stimulate made updates throughout.