The US giant Google has officially announced that it will abandon the Hangout messaging app, which it launched in May 2013, and will close it by the end of this year.
The American company displayed messages inside the Hangout urging users to switch to Gmail or the separate Chat application, according to Gizmodo, a technology and science news website.
The company confirmed that the transition to “Google Chat” will be smooth, as the user will keep the old chat history from the “Hangout”.
“Google’s decision comes against the backdrop of the decline in the popularity of the Hangout messaging application, in light of fierce competition with other instant messaging applications, led by WhatsApp, which is used by about 2 billion people around the world,” says digital media and e-marketing consultant, Mohammed Al-Harthy.
The US giant Google has officially announced that it will abandon the Hangout messaging app, which it launched in May 2013, and will close it by the end of this year.
The American company displayed messages inside the Hangout urging users to switch to Gmail or the separate Chat application, according to Gizmodo, a technology and science news website.
The company confirmed that the transition to “Google Chat” will be smooth, as the user will keep the old chat history from the “Hangout”.
“Google’s decision comes against the backdrop of the decline in the popularity of the Hangout messaging application, in light of fierce competition with other instant messaging applications, led by WhatsApp, which is used by about 2 billion people around the world,” says digital media and e-marketing consultant, Mohammed Al-Harthy.
Google says that moving to Google Chat gives users a better way to communicate and collaborate with others, and notes that users can edit documents, presentations or spreadsheets.
Al-Harthy explains, “Google Chat provides spaces for group conversations, and allows easy return to attachments such as files, photos and tasks.”
And the digital media and e-marketing consultant expects Google to add “features such as direct communication, and improve the ability to share and display multiple images.”