Google to shut down classic Hangouts in March, Workspace users migrated to Google Chat

Google has been delaying classic Hangouts users transition to Google Chat for quite a while, but now it looks like the app’s time is coming to an end. The search giant announced this week that it’s finally ready for the migration from Classic Hangouts to Google Chat for Google Workspace customers.

The migration will start on March 22, as Google will turn on the “Chat preferred” setting for customers who haven’t done so, which will make Google Chat the default chat application. After that date, users who try to access classic Hangouts in Gmail on the web or classic Hangouts mobile apps will be automatically directed to Google Chat.

One other important thing worth mentioning is that the move from classic Hangouts to Google Chat is not optional, so you’ll be automatically transitioned to the upgraded app. With that in mind, you might want to export your classic Hangouts and Chat data before it’s deleted.

According to Google, the change will not affect the personal use of Hangouts with a Google Account, just Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers.