Google will discontinue Hangouts in the coming months. According to a statement made by the company earlier this year, Google Chat will replace Hangouts and users will be upgraded. The tech giant has begun inviting users to its new communication service Google Chat via app notification.
Google Chat was released in 2022, and the company is urging Hangouts users to migrate to it or download the Chat web app. Google is also advising users to back up their chat logs, media, and all other data. The company stated that all discussions from Hangouts will be transferred automatically to the Chat app, although users must still preserve their crucial information or data.
Google advises users to use Google Takeout to remove their data before January 1, 2023, when all of the data for Hangouts will be deleted. So, if you use Google Hangouts and want to save all of your chats and media before the app closes, use Google Takeout to save the archive. Here’s how to transfer your data from Hangouts and download it as an archive file.
How To Download Google Hangouts Data?
Step 1: Use the Google Account you use for Hangouts to sign in to Google Takeout.
Step 2: Choose Hangouts and deselect the other apps from the list that appears.
Step 3: Click Next Step.
Step 4: Select how frequently you wish to download the backup under Delivery method. We advise a one-time download because Google Chat will shortly replace Hangouts.
Step 5: Choose the file type.
Step 6: Click Export.
Step 7: You receive a notification informing you that Google is copying files from Hangouts. When the takeout procedure is finished, you will get an email. Download the file to save your Hangouts data.
Additionally, users can transmit messages between Google Chat and Google Hangouts until the two services work together. The way that Chat and Hangouts are synced ensures that if any data in Hangouts is deleted, equivalent data in Chat will likewise be wiped. Users should delete their data from either of the apps only if they choose to erase their data from both apps.