Google Hangouts Is Officially Dead

Google has completed the retirement of Hangouts, a service which at one point was considered the search giant’s very own alternative not only to Apple’s iMessage but also to the likes of WhatsApp and Telegram. Hangouts is being upgraded to Google Chat as part of a process that started earlier this year. The web-based version, however, is being pushed offline today, with Google now claiming that users will be redirected to the web version of Google Chat. All data will continue to be available until January 1, at which point everything will be deleted. “Google Hangouts is being upgraded to Google Chat at the end of 2022 for those who haven’t already upgraded. Some people may have already moved to Google Chat and may no longer be able to use Google Hangouts on some platforms,” Google said in the original announcement. “Access to Hangouts on the web will be available until November 1, 2022. After that time, users will be redirected to Chat on the web. Users can conti...