Tag Archives: Google Hangouts

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – September 2, 2022

New updates 

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are fully launched or in the process of rolling out (rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete), launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time (if not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete), and available to all Google Workspace and G Suite customers. 


Refining notifications on the Google Classroom app 
We’ve made the following improvement to Google Classroom notifications: 
In addition to setting your preference for Classroom push notifications, you can now tailor your email notifications from Android or iOS mobile devices. | Learn more.





The text for all push notifications has been updated and we’ve enhanced Classroom action options, such as “Join class” or “View comment.” With this update, Classroom push notifications are much clearer and more actionable. | Learn more. 

These features are available now to Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade customers only. 


Insert Google Maps place chips into Google Docs
Last year, we added the ability for you to insert a Google Maps place chip into a Google Doc by pasting a Maps link directly into the document. Now, you can insert place chips into your Docs using the @ menu. | Roll out to Rapid Release began August 22, 2022; launch to Scheduled Release planned for September 8, 2022. | Learn more. 




Google Meet now automatically adjusts the volume of meeting participants 
With meeting participants using various devices to join a meeting, this can lead to discrepancies in volume, with some participants sounding louder than others. Meet will adjust the audio of all participants, helping to ensure everyone is equally loud. To take advantage of this feature, make sure noise cancellation is turned on. We hope this makes for smoother meetings, with less disruptions. 


Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Frontline, and Individual customers 



Previous announcements 

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details. 



Dark Canvas theme now available on Google Meet hardware home screen 
We’re adding support for a dark home page theme for Google Meet hardware devices. When using Dark Canvas, devices will now feature dark user interface elements on the home screen when not in an active call. | Available for all supported Google Meet hardware devices that have not yet reached their auto-update expiration date. | Learn more.



Easily customize digital signage on your Google Meet hardware through Appspace 
We’re giving admins more options for customization by using their Appspace digital signage content. | Learn more. 



Insert emojis inline with text in Google Docs 
You can now express yourself in a new way by searching for and inserting emojis directly inline with your text in Google Docs. | Learn more. 



Work Insights reporting for Google Chat and Google Meet 
With the recent upgrade from Hangouts to Google Chat for Google Workspace customers, we’re pleased to introduce a Work Insights product for Meet and Chat. Work Insights allows for optimal visibility into your organization’s digital transformation journey, and helps to improve collaboration, promote growth, and much more. | Learn More. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus customers 



Google Hangouts will be fully upgraded to Google Chat starting November 1, 2022 
As a final step in the migration, beginning November 1, 2022, Google Hangouts on web will redirect to Google Chat on web, and Hangouts will no longer be accessible. Admins will receive an email containing more information about this change, as well as changes in Vault and exporting Hangouts data. | Learn More. 


For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).

Google Hangouts will be fully upgraded to Google Chat starting November 1, 2022

What’s changing 

In February, we announced that all domains would be upgraded to ‘Chat preferred’ and Google Hangouts would start redirecting to Google Chat. Since then, the Hangouts mobile app, Hangouts Chrome extension, and Hangouts in Gmail on web have been redirecting to Chat. 



As a final step in the migration, beginning November 1, 2022, Google Hangouts on web will redirect to Google Chat on web, and Hangouts will no longer be accessible. 



Admins will receive an email containing more information about this change, as well as changes in Vault and exporting Hangouts data. 


Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users 


Why it’s important 

Upgrading Google Hangouts to Google Chat gives users a single messaging solution and better integration across Google Workspace. Further, users can take advantage of the feature-rich experience, such as: 

  • Rich-text editing 
  • Tagging specific people with @ mentions 
  • Searching for and sharing GIFs and using emoji reactions 
  • Seamless integration with Gmail, alongside your other critical apps 
  • Spaces, dedicated places for organizing people, topics, and projects in Google Workspace. 

Getting started 

  • Admins: 
    • For some users, some conversations or portions of conversations won’t automatically migrate from Hangouts to Chat. If there are impacted users in your domain, you will receive an email notification with more details.
    • Inform your users about the upgrade from Google Hangouts to Google Chat and the associated changes. 

Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers 

Resources 

Classic Hangouts will be upgraded to Google Chat beginning March 22, 2022

What’s changing

 
We're now ready to move into the final phase of the migration from Classic Hangouts to Google Chat for Google Workspace customers. 

Beginning March 22, 2022, we’ll turn on the “Chat preferred” setting for any customers who haven’t already done so, making Google Chat the default chat application. This means that when users visit classic Hangouts in Gmail on the web or the classic Hangouts mobile apps, they’ll be directed to Chat. Hangouts.google.com will continue to work. It is not possible to opt out of this change. If you’d like to export your classic Hangouts and Chat data, learn about exporting your organization’s data. 

NOTE: This phase does not affect the personal use of Hangouts with a Google Account. 


See below for more information and timing. 


Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users 

Why it matters 

Starting March 22, 2022, classic Hangouts users with the following domain settings will be migrated to Google Chat:

Admin console setting

Automatic upgrade timeline

Chat and classic Hangouts

Access groups with both Google Chat and classic Hangouts turned on

Over the course of three weeks starting March 22, 2022

Classic Hangouts only

Access groups with only classic Hangouts enabled

Over the course of five weeks starting April 4, 2022



After domains are upgraded to “Chat preferred,” all classic Hangouts applications, except hangouts.google.com, will be disabled. Additionally, the “Chat and classic Hangouts” and “Classic Hangouts only” settings will be removed from the Admin console. 

Additional details 

  • Vault users: Messages sent in classic Hangouts will continue to be retained and held according to policies set for Chat, and searchable and exportable with Gmail search in Vault. Messages sent in Chat are subject to retention rules and holds you set for Chat, and searchable and exportable with Chat search in Vault.
  • Conversation history: Except for a few special cases, all the conversation history from Hangouts will be available in Google Chat. However, starting mid-March 2022, any newly created spaces in Google Chat within your domain will not appear in classic Hangouts. This means that messages sent in these spaces will only appear in Google Chat for your affected users. You can learn more about Chat and classic Hangouts interoperability. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: 
    •  If you currently have the “Classic Hangouts only” or “Chat and classic Hangouts” Admin console setting enabled for your entire domain or specific access groups, you’ll be automatically upgraded to the “Chat preferred” setting, per the dates listed above. You can upgrade all of your users to “Chat preferred” prior to those dates if you choose. 
    • If you don’t have the “Classic Hangouts only” or “Chat and classic Hangouts” setting selected, you don’t need to do anything. 
  • End user: There is no end user setting for this feature. Visit the Help Center to learn more about the switch from classic Hangouts to Google Chat. 

Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers

Resources 

Limit external messaging to trusted domains in Google Chat

What’s changing
Trusted domains for Chat allows you to limit external chat to only users in domains that you trust. Previously, you could only choose to allow external Chat or not. Now, you may choose to limit external chat to people in trusted domains for your entire organization, or set different policies for different OUs.


Who’s impacted 
Admins 


Why it’s important
Trusted domains for Chat gives admins more fine grained control over external chat in their organization. This can help the right users communicate with the stakeholders they need to work with, while helping to prevent inappropriate or undesired external chats. 


Additional details
Trusted domains only allows communication with domain managed accounts in those domains. Email verified consumer accounts will not be trusted. 

Getting started 
  • End users: There is no end user setting for this feature. 




Rollout pace 

Availability 
  • Available to [Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers 

Resources 

Hangouts to Google Chat upgrade beginning August 16th, with option to opt-out

What’s changing 

Beginning August 16, 2021, we will start upgrading users who have the “Chat and classic Hangouts” setting selected to “Chat preferred,” unless you explicitly opt out. Users who already have “Chat only”, “Chat preferred”, or “Classic Only” selected, or users with both services turned off will not be affected. 


Additionally, the “Chat and classic Hangouts'' setting will also be removed for all users in your domain unless you opt out of the upgrade. 


If there are affected users in your domain, you will receive an email notification that contains more information and any necessary action that needs to be taken.


Who’s impacted

Admins and end users


Why it’s important

Unless you opt-out, Google Chat will replace classic Hangouts as the default chat application for your affected users. 


Beginning late 2021, classic Hangouts will no longer be supported and all remaining users will be migrated to Google Chat. Learn more about the Google Chat upgrade timeline.



Getting started


If you don’t take any action, all users in your organization who have the “Chat and classic Hangouts” setting selected will be automatically upgraded to “Chat preferred” and the “Chat and classic Hangouts” setting will no longer be accessible. We anticipate this migration to take around  two weeks.


No action is required if there are no users in your domain with the “Chat and classic Hangouts” service setting selected.


Additional details

The “Chat and classic Hangouts” setting will be removed from the Admin Console regardless of your selected setting, unless you opt out.  


Conversation History: With the exception of a few special cases, messages sent in classic Hangouts 1:1 and group conversations will be available in Chat. Learn more about Chat and classic Hangouts interoperability.


Direct calling: Chat doesn’t yet support direct calling in the same way as classic Hangouts. We anticipate direct calling to become available for Google Chat later this year — we will provide an update here when that feature becomes available. 


Manage Hangouts Meet and classic Hangouts video calls with one setting

What’s changing

Video calling from Hangouts Meet and classic Hangouts is now controlled by the same setting. This means that the setting in the Admin console that controls classic Hangouts video calling now also controls Hangouts Meet.

Who’s impacted

Admins

Why it matters

By combining these settings, we’re making it easier for you to manage all video calling within your organization.

Getting started

Admins: You can find the new, consolidated setting in the Admin console at Apps > G Suite > Settings for Google Hangouts > Meet settings. Learn more in the Help Center. The new setting will respect your previous setting. For new G Suite customers, video calling will be enabled by default.

End users: There is no end user setting for this feature.

Rollout pace



Availability


  • Available to all G Suite customers

Resources




Combining classic Hangouts and Chat policy management

What’s changing

We’re combining the Admin console settings for Hangouts Chat and classic Hangouts. This will make it easier to manage your policies and make sure they’re configured appropriately. The new settings will be located at Admin console > Apps > G Suite > Hangouts Chat.

See more details and images below.

Who’s impacted

Admins only

Why you’d use it

These Admin console settings help you dictate how your organization uses G Suite messaging products. For example, you can set policies for chat history, external user chats, and third-party integrations (bots). With this update, you only need to go to one place to control all the chat settings for your organization. This can help to simplify deployment and ensure policies are set up as desired.

How to get started



Additional details

Note, we will not be making any changes to your effective settings—only the location and presentation of the settings will change. Clicking “Chat Settings” from the classic Hangouts page in the Admin console will redirect you to the Hangouts Chat settings page. From there, you'll find all of the settings that control chatting across both classic Hangouts and Hangouts Chat.

The specific policies affected by this change, along with details of the impact of the change, are shown in the Help Center. The new policies can be customized for each organizational unit (OU).

Additional details on the function of the settings and what products they apply to are provided in the Admin console interface:

The new combined settings in the Admin console 

Helpful links



Availability

Rollout details


G Suite editions

  • Available to all G Suite editions.

On/off by default?

  • These changes will take place automatically for all domains once rollout is complete.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

Updates to Hangouts Chat migration timelines

What’s changing

Earlier this year, we announced that we will be transitioning classic Hangouts users in G Suite domains to Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet. At that time, we provided a timeline of changes and said that in October 2019 we would start retiring classic Hangouts for G Suite customers.

Since then, we’ve heard feedback from many of you that you’d like more time to migrate your organizations from classic Hangouts to Hangouts Chat.

As a result, we’re officially postponing the final transition date (i.e. phase 4 in this timeline) to no sooner than June 2020.

In the interim, we’ll continue to improve the transition experience of classic Hangouts group conversations, as well as add new Chat features like Read receipts. We’ll also provide advance notice once we have a more definitive date, so please monitor the G Suite Updates blog for updates. We’ll also have a detailed breakdown of the transition timeline in the Help Center.

Migrate sooner with the Accelerated Transition Program
Admins who prefer to fully migrate to Chat sooner can still request an invitation to the Accelerated Transition Program, which disables classic Hangouts and migrates all users to Hangouts Chat, while providing early access to new Chat features.

This program is great for domains that:

  • Want to simplify communications and get all users on the same chat experience
  • Are new G Suite customers or haven’t used classic Hangouts before


Migration by organizational unit is not available at this time, and classic Hangouts group conversations will need to be recreated in Chat. Please review the Deployment Guide and Known Limitations to determine if this migration experience is right for you.

For admins who have already signed up for early access through the Accelerated Transition Program, we are adding domains to this program on a rolling basis.

How to get started

Helpful links

Availability

  • G Suite editions All G Suite editions can apply.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

New adaptive meeting layouts in Hangouts Meet

What’s changing 

Hangouts Meet is launching adaptive layouts that automatically adjust to give you the best view of the people and presentations in your meeting:

Spotlight 
The spotlight layout keeps the focus on the presentation or a single speaker. It’s used when you’re in a meeting with just one other participant, when you pin someone, and when there’s a presentation but no active speakers with video on.


Tiled 
The tiled layout shows up to four participants on the screen to make your meetings feel more inclusive. This will be the default for smaller meetings when there is no presentation.


Side by side 
The side by side layout shows up to three speakers in a larger format next to the presentation. This allows you to continue to see the presenter as they speak. This is the default when there’s a presentation and there are active speakers with video on.


Sidebar 
The sidebar layout improves on the existing Meet layout by showing several additional participants in the same vertical space and using rectangular feeds to avoid participants on the edge being cropped out. This will be the default for larger meetings when there is no presentation.



In addition to seeing these layouts automatically used depending on the meeting needs, users can select a preferred layout from the Change layout dialog.

Who’s impacted 

End users

Why you’d use it 

These new layouts provide the user with a more inclusive and collaborative view of the meeting, allowing for easier interaction with remote participants while still maintaining focus on the content being presented.

How to get started 


  • Admins: No action required. 
  • End users: You’ll see the new layouts in your next Hangouts Meet meeting once the feature has rolled out to you. 

Additional details 

The new layouts are available on Hangouts Meet web clients and Hangouts Meet hardware.

Helpful links 

To learn more about layouts in Hangout Meets, see our Help Center. 

Availability 

Rollout details 

  • Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on April 30, 2019 
  • Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting no earlier than May 14, 2019. 

G Suite editions 

  • Available to all G Suite editions. 

On/off by default? 

  • The new layouts are replacing the existing layout and will be enabled by default. 


  Stay up to date with G Suite launches

Stay organized and on-top of conversations with Hangouts Chat improvements

Quick launch summary 

We’re improving the side panel on Hangouts Chat, making it easier to keep track of your chats and stay organized.

In addition to Starred, you’ll now see the following sections in the left-hand side panel: People, Rooms, and Bots, with corresponding chats grouped accordingly. These sections will better organize your chats, making it easy to find specific chats and see where there are items that need attention. This feature will be available across web, desktop, iOS, and Android.


Hangouts Chat on desktop.


Hangouts Chat on Mobile

Availability 

Rollout details 


G Suite editions 

  • Available to all G Suite editions. 

On/off by default? 

  • This feature will be ON by default.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches