Hangouts to Chat Migration: Free Upgrade in 2021 | Google

The current situation with Google’s various messaging applications is complex, involving Hangouts, Meet, Chat, and Duo, but improvements are anticipated in the coming year. It was previously announced that Hangouts would eventually be discontinued, and Google has now stated that all existing Hangouts users will be able to transfer to Chat during the first half of 2021.

Notably, Chat will now also be available for personal, non-business use. Currently, access to the service generally requires a paid G Suite or Workspace subscription, although it appears to be functioning on some free personal accounts.

While Chat isn't a direct substitute for Hangouts, it provides a wider range of features for group conversations and collaborative work on documents and projects, alongside enhanced security measures. Chat, along with Rooms and Meet, will be closely integrated within the Gmail application as part of Google’s broader Workspace update.

Google plans to automatically transfer all Hangouts conversations, contacts, and chat history to Chat, though specific details regarding this process have not yet been released. The exact timing of these changes is subject to potential adjustments. It remains uncertain when Google will require all users to migrate and ultimately discontinue Hangouts servers.

Additional details include the phasing out of Hangouts support for Google Fi users “early next year.” Fi customers have traditionally used Hangouts for calls and text messaging, and this functionality will be moved to the Google Messages app.

Google Voice users will experience a similar change. Voice calls and text messages will be redirected to the Voice app, and Hangouts support for Voice will be removed in the coming year.

Furthermore, the ability to make phone calls through Hangouts will be removed for users in the U.S. and Europe at the start of next year, and Hangouts group video calls will be moved to Meet in November.

This series of changes appears complicated, but it stems from decisions made by Google in the past. The initial plan involved transitioning Hangouts users to Allo and Duo, and business users to Chat and Meet. However, Allo was unsuccessful, and Duo has limited adoption, leaving Google with the challenge of maintaining the older Hangouts platform and making the overall transition more difficult and confusing, potentially leaving consumers unsure of the changes.