Data Backup Digest

Making its debut in 2005, Google Talk was one of the earliest instant messaging services to include full support for voice chat. Given the recent popularity of apps like Zoom, Skype, and even Google Hangouts, however, the writing has been on the wall for quite some time. As such, the team with Google officially pulled the plug on Google Talk on June 16, 2022.

Known by Many Names

The Google Talk platform had been known by many different names through its 16-year lifespan. Although it was always known officially as Google Talk, its users often referred to it as Gtalk, Gchat, or even Gmessage. Regardless of the name you preferred, the service officially went offline in June 2022.

But the move didn’t happen without warning. In fact, the team with Google has been slowly transitioning its user base away from Google Talk and into Hangouts, which offers group-based video conferences and full integration with Google’s suit of products and services.

A recent statement issued by Google read, in part: “Google Talk launched in 2005 as a simple chat experience between Gmail users. In 2013, we began replacing Google Talk with Hangouts, while still giving users the option to continue using Google Talk. Hangouts offers advanced improvements over Google Talk such as group video calling and integration with other Google products. With the introduction of Hangouts Meet and Hangouts Chat, which add further improvements in meetings and team collaboration, it is now time to say goodbye to Google Talk.”

The New Kid on the Block

While it was announced several years ago that Google Talk would be coming to an end, and even though the team with Google has been actively urging their users to make the switch to Google Hangouts, there are still some users left. For these users, the app is rendered completely useless on June 16, 2022.

To make things even more confusing, Google recently rebranded Google Hangouts Chat to Google Chat. They’ve also rebranded their original Hangouts platform with Google Chat for Workspace in early 2022. Although Google Hangouts is still available online, it comes with the caveat that warns users of its impending transition to the new Google Chat platform.

In addition, any third-party apps that once supported Google Talk will no longer do so. Since these apps provided the only real means of accessing Google Talk for quite some time now, this move officially marks the end of Google Talk. Once again, users are encouraged to make the transition to the newly updated Google Chat to avoid any significant interruptions to their day-to-day communications.

The Future of Google Chat

Nobody can say for certain what the future holds for Google Chat. While it’s clear that they’re actively pushing the platform as of now, their history of change and rebranding leaves the future of Google Chat in question. They’ll likely continue to offer some form of instant messaging for years to come, but what form that will take over the next few years – or even what name it has – is anybody’s guess.