Remember Hangouts? I’m sure it will, although it won’t be too long before we forget about it, and it’s the one that’s shutting down Google’s messaging service for good in November, after several threats followed by delays. But there won’t be any more, and if you were one of those who used it and want to keep what was said there, your time to do so is slightly longer, but not by much.

In case you answered no, Hangouts is, even today, because it is still available through its website, the messaging service that Google replaced with the classic Google Talk, that ancient Gmail add-on based on the free XMPP standard. Facebook Messenger also relied on XMPP for its functionality at the time, and if both weren’t the predators they are, maybe another rooster would have crowed at us today, and instead of being subjected to a thousand and one apps and other services, we’d be able to use the , which we wanted without losing compatibility with the rest like email.

The story was different, and Google bet everything on something that didn’t sound bad in English, but was out of tune in Spanish: Hangouts, a remake of what was already there, but more focused on video calls… And ate the scumbag, which was usually said vulgarly. By then the competition was very strong and the credit that Google Talk once had was lost. And madness ensued.

Not content with Hangouts, Google started launching messaging services without rhyme or reason: Hangouts, Allo, Duo, Spaces, Messages… only to fail again. And although the company decided to bring order to the chaos, it cost them more than anyone could have imagined.

Google Chat, along with Google Meet, is the present and the future

So it is at the end of 2022 that Hangouts, the end of which was expected much earlier, will once and for all give way to a new generation of Google communication services. Specifically, Google Chat, which the company already refers all Hangouts users to. As expected, users will start being warned “at least a month” in advance to start the migration.

In this regard, it should be noted that the new Google Chat offers features in addition to those of Hangouts, including the ability to make direct calls, create online threads in Spaces (the rebranding of rooms), as well as share and view multiple images. And for video conferences, Google Meet, which will be merged with Duo.

Now, if you use or used to use Hangouts and you’re not going to make the jump to Google Chat, but you want to keep the information you left in Hangouts one day, even though it’s shutting down for good in November, it won’t be until January 1, 2023 when Google removes all data from its servers. Until then, you can export your data using Google Data Export, don’t forget 9to5Google.

It’s very simple: go to Google Takeout, uncheck everything, search for Hangouts, check them and continue exporting. It will take more or less depending on the amount of data. When it’s ready, you’ll receive a message to the Gmail account you used to make the backup. And there is no more.

Until never, Hangouts. We won’t miss you, unlike some you will share your retirement with… in the Google graveyard.