Google Confirms Hangouts Will Not Shut Down; Rather, It Will Upgrade To Hangouts Chat And Hangouts Meet 

Amid widespread rumours of Google shutting down its communication platform, Google Hangouts, Google has thrown cold water on them by confirming that Hangouts will not be closing anytime soon, reports Business Today.

Earlier 9to5Google had reported the shutting down of Hangouts by 2020, citing sources close to the product's roadmap. However, the Real Time Communication product lead for G Suite, which also includes Hangouts Meet and Chat, and Google Voice, Scott Johnston, tweeted to clarify the company’s stand and dismissed the rumours.

While clarifying the stand, Scott also adds Hangouts Classic would eventually be shutting down as a result of Hangout user migration, but the company will continue to support the "use case supported by the product: messaging and meetings".

A spokesperson from Google issued an official statement confirming regular users will also be able to avail of the Chat and Meet. "In March 2017, we announced plans to evolve classic Hangouts to focus on two experiences that help bring teams together: Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet”, the statement said, while adding both are available for only G Suite users, but soon will be available for regular users too.

“We are fully committed to supporting Classic Hangouts users until everyone is successfully migrated to Chat and Meet”, the statement adds.

Google Hangouts was launched in 2013, as a replacement of three Google chat and messaging platforms. In recent years, Google has not been updating the app and further, taken away the SMS messaging services.