Apple

Google Hangouts surprisingly returns to the App Store, but a direct link is needed

The “classic” version of Google Hangouts is back on the App Store by surprise, even if with certain limitations – formally it is not listed, so to download it it is not enough to search for it and it is not even suggested by the platform’s automatic algorithms. You need to have the direct link. We give it to you at the end of the article, even if we doubt it will actually be of any use.

Unlisted apps are mostly useful for developers and the companies that produce them: in this way they can share them among employees for the most diverse reasons without the need to have (for example) an active shared cloud storage or other ancillary services. Technically, even this version of the app still works: in fact, the servers of the platform are still online, for example for those who have the app pre-installed or in any case had installed and activated it before its disappearance. That said, Google decided to abandon it precisely because no one was using it, so at this point it is more a curiosity than an actually useful message.

As we know Google’s adventure in the world of instant messaging has been troubled and complicated, to put it mildly. Summing up briefly, we can say that the Mountain View giant has tried its luck with a large number of services and strategies over the years, but none have really been successful. And to think that at the time it was rumored that it was vying to grab WhatsApp, but that it pulled back in front of the huge amount put into play by Facebook (Google later denied it but not everyone was completely convinced).

Anyway, the current situation is that Google is currently pushing aside on Messages, trying to revive SMS through their current evolution, that is the RCS protocol, and on the other hand on Chat, which until recently was called Hangouts Chat and was aimed mostly at the world of work. That’s where Google is hijacking users of the old Hangouts, waiting to finally pull the plug – when, however, we still don’t know.

  • Google Hangouts | iOS | Apple App Store, Free

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