Google Hangouts

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Google Hangouts

Hangouts Icon.png
Basic data

developer Google LLC ( more )
Publishing year 2013
Current  version 24.0 ( Android )
January 17, 2018

21.0.0 ( iOS )
December 19, 2017

operating system Web application , Android, iOS
category Instant messaging , video conferencing
License Freeware
German speaking Yes
hangouts.google.com

Google Hangouts is a video conference - and instant messaging - service of the US company Google . Hangouts was launched in May 2013 and replaces the older Google Talk and Google+ Messenger projects .

Google announced that it would discontinue the “Hangouts Classic” service. Enterprise customers ( G Suite ) should be migrated to the separate product Hangouts Chat , Google's clone of Slack , from October 2019 [obsolete] . For private customers, the setting should take place in 2020.

In August 2019 it was announced that the Hangout Messenger will be closed later and that the release of the two successors Hangouts Meet and Hangouts Chat has been postponed. In the meantime (also against the background of the corona pandemic , May 2020) Google Hangouts has been replaced by Google Meet and is very similar to other widely used video conferencing and messaging tools in terms of design, operation and accessibility.

Functions

Google Hangouts can be accessed from a standalone website and the Gmail and Inbox websites . The tool was integrated into the Google+ social network ; however, this platform was closed on April 2, 2019. There are also apps for Android and iOS and an extension for Google Chrome . Hangouts also supports XMPP clients to a limited extent. Participants need a Google account. A "hangout" can be declared public so that users who do not know the initiator can also participate. Google Hangouts allows chats with up to 150 participants. A maximum of ten users can take part in video calls.

In addition to text messages, Hangouts can also be used to send videos, photos, stickers and the current location. Chat histories are saved on the server, which means that all registered devices can be synchronized. This enables Google Hangouts, for example, to start a conversation on the desktop computer and continue it on the smartphone without losing the connection. Chat histories are managed via Gmail like e-mails , so they can be searched and filtered for specific words using the methods offered there. In the chat process, a reduced, semi-transparent avatar of the relevant participant indicates how far they have already seen the conversation.

At the same time as the release of Android 4.4 “Kitkat”, the Hangouts app for Android was expanded so that it can manage SMS and MMS on devices from Android 4.0 . As of version 2.1 of April 2014, conversations with the same conversation partner via SMS and text chat were combined, with the update to version 11 this function was removed again.

For the PC version of Hangouts, there are extensions and applications that offer additional functions. These extensions are available in the “Google Chrome Web Store” or in other unofficial directories.

Hangout On Air

A "Hangout On Air" is the public live broadcast of a Hangout as a freely accessible video stream . The Hangout On Air channels can be found on Google+ and YouTube . It is also possible to join a Hangout on Air from mobile devices. However, an invitation must be sent from the organizer, otherwise participation is not possible. In addition, “Hangouts on Air” cannot be started from the mobile device. A Hangout on Air is saved in the linked YouTube channel after transmission, is publicly available and can be given a title and description. If it is shorter than two hours, it can still be edited and cut to size on YouTube. This service is also to be discontinued in 2019; the webcam feature for YouTube offered by Google as an alternative is not suitable for group conversations.

Legal

A hangout on air is legally to be assessed as a telemedia in Germany, can be assessed as broadcasting under certain conditions and would therefore require a license. In connection with the Hangout on Air by Chancellor Angela Merkel on April 19, 2013, however, the statement was made that a Hangout on Air is not a broadcasting service, but an on-demand service that does not require a broadcasting license. There are no binding regulations yet; Instead, Jürgen Brautmeier , the chairman of ZAK and DLM , said that we would first see how things develop and then make arrangements.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hangouts. In: Google Play . Retrieved March 28, 2016 .
  2. ↑ Hangouts. In: App Store . Retrieved March 28, 2016 .
  3. ↑ Ron Amadeo: The Great Google Hangouts Shutdown begins October 2019. In: Ars Technica . January 23, 2019, accessed February 3, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Jens: Google Hangouts: Messenger will not be discontinued after all - Chat & Meet will be postponed for a long time - GWB. In: googlewatchblog.de. August 21, 2019, accessed April 14, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Jacob Kastrenakes: Google Hangouts now has its own website. The Verge , August 17, 2015, accessed March 24, 2017 .
  6. ↑ Timothy J. Seppala: Google makes a Hangouts Mac app you'll want to use. Engadget , May 22, 2015, accessed on March 24, 2017 .
  7. ↑ Parker Higgins: Google Abandons Open Standards for Instant Messaging. EFF , May 22, 2013, accessed on March 28, 2016 .
  8. ^ Ellis Hamburger and Dieter Bohn: Exclusive: Inside Hangouts, Google's big fix for its messaging mess. The Verge, accessed March 24, 2017 .
  9. ↑ GTalk is officially dead, long live Hangouts. The Times of India, February 27, 2015, accessed March 24, 2017 .
  10. ↑ System Requirements for Hangouts on Computers. In: support.google.com. Retrieved March 28, 2016 .
  11. ↑ Stephen Shankland: Google injects smarts, stickers into Hangouts communication app. CNET , December 10, 2014, accessed on March 24, 2017 (English).
  12. ↑ Rich McCormick: Google Hangouts on Android can now record and send video. The Verge , July 13, 2016, accessed March 24, 2017 .
  13. ↑ Björn Greif: Hangouts 2.1 for Android combines SMS and chat messages. ZDNet , April 22, 2014, accessed on March 28, 2016 .
  14. ^ Ron Amadeo: Google Hangouts for Android removes merged SMS conversations, adds video. Ars Technica , July 13, 2016, accessed March 24, 2017 .
  15. ↑ Google Chrome Web Store. Retrieved October 6, 2012 .
  16. ↑ Google Hangout Apps Directory. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on August 1, 2015 ; Retrieved October 6, 2012 .
  17. ↑ Layton Pritchard: Updated Hangouts app for iOS gives users the ability to join Hangouts On Air. (No longer available online.) July 31, 2013, archived from the original on March 17, 2016 ; accessed on March 28, 2016 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.googleplusdaily.com
  18. ↑ Improve videos with optimization functions - YouTube help. In: support.google.com. Retrieved July 24, 2016 .
  19. ↑ Hangouts On Air with YouTube Live YouTube Help. In: support.google.com. Retrieved June 25, 2019 .
  20. ↑ Checklist of media companies for web TV organizers. (PDF; 71 kB) Retrieved March 28, 2016 .
  21. ↑ The Chancellor in conversation - Hangout for integration on YouTube
  22. ↑ Live hangouts are more on-demand services and not broadcasting #MerkelHangout. Retrieved March 24, 2017 .