Peggy K's Creator News

Today Google announced that the Album Archive will shut down July 19. You likely received an email notice if you used Google's Picasa Web Albums or Photos, shared images in Hangouts, have a Blogger blog or otherwise uploaded images to your Google account.  It may sound worrying, but it's likely you won't even notice the change. Email notice from Google with the subject "An Update to Album Archive":  You're receiving this email because you've viewed Album Archive recently or you may have some content that is visible in Album Archive. Starting on July 19, 2023, Album Archive will no longer be available. We recommend that you use Google Takeout to download a copy of your Album Archive data before then.  There are currently a number of different Google services that let you upload images, including: Google Photos Google Drive Google Sites Google Docs Google Slides Blogger  YouTube Cha...

If you have been using Hangouts to communicate from your Brand Account, that will stop working on November 1, 2022.  Your Hangouts data can be exported using Google Takeout until January 1, 2023.  This will only affect Brand Accounts that have direct sign-in enabled. The option to add a password to a Brand Account was only available through the fall of 2016, but any password set before then continues to work.  Note that Google Chat, the successor to Hangouts , does not support Brand Accounts.  If this affects your account, you should have received an email notification from "The Google Apps Team".  The important part of the email says:  You are receiving this email because you are a Brand Account owner who created and used Google Hangouts with your Brand Account that was created before August 4, 2021, when Brand Accounts could be used with a variety of Google services. Since August 4, 2021, new Brand Accounts ...

We are finally reaching the end of the road for Hangouts. This week Google announced the timeline for the final migration from classic Hangouts to the new(ish) Google Chat for users with personal Google accounts.  The current timeline Now : Hangouts mobile app stops working, start using Chat in Gmail or the Chat app Now: Hangouts extension stops working, access Hangouts at hangouts.google.com or in Gmail July 2022: Hangouts in Gmail on the web will be upgraded to Google Chat September 2022: Google will email users regarding Hangouts conversations that did not fully migrate to Chat November 1, 2022: Hangouts on the web (hangouts.google.com) will redirect to Chat (chat.google.com) Hangouts data will be available for export with Google Takeout until January 1, 2023. Here's what you need to know about the switch from Hangouts to Chat ...

  In yet another step towards the retirement of Hangouts, Google Chat will replace classic Hangouts for Google Workspace customers in Gmail and on mobile devices on March 22. Note that Hangouts will still be available at  hangouts.google.com  so this is not a full retirement of Hangouts.   Google has not announced when Hangouts will be fully retired. But that time is on the horizon.  Some Hangouts features have been removed:  You can no longer share a link to join a conversation in classic Hangouts. Video call ringing is only available on Google Chat in Gmail on mobile devices. This is currently only available for 1:1 conversations where both participants are using the latest version of the Gmail app for Chat.  Your classic Hangouts conversations should be available in Google Chat, for the most part. ...

Classic Hangouts group conversations are migrating to Google Chat beginning December 3 . This is part of the larger migration from classic Hangouts to Chat (for conversations) and Meet (for video calling).  If you use Google Chat, either with your Google Workspace account, or because you have been added as an external user to a Room or Chat conversation, your Hangouts group conversations will start appearing in Chat as well. The group conversations should be available in both classic Hangouts and Chat. Note that if you are using a personal Google account your migration from Hangouts to Chat will be in the first half of 2021.   You will also be able to add and change members of new Chat group conversations. For Chat group conversations created before December 3, you can start an updated conversation with the same group of people, using the "Start a new chat" in the conversation settings. A couple of additional notes: First group Hangouts conversations will be available, follow...

  Google is replacing Hangouts video calling in classic Hangouts with Meet. Meet has some great features, but it doesn't work quite the same way as Hangouts video calling, so it's worth understanding the differences.   This is just one change coming to classic Hangouts, which is also  removing the option to place phone calls through the Hangouts app or website. On personal Google accounts Meet video calls can have up to 100 participants,  grid view with up to 49 people ,  closed captions ,  high-quality audio and video screen sharing , and  background replacement . You should see a notice in your Hangouts account when this change goes into effect. In group Hangouts conversations you will only have the option to share a Meet video call link.  In one-to-one Hangouts conversations you will have the choice between sharing a Meet video call link or starting a Hangouts video call...