Bid Google Talk farewell! Move on to Hangout

By Tanushree Banerjee

It's 2015. And it's the end of Google Talk as you and I know it.

No longer will you be able to chat with your friends and acquaintances via GTalk, as it came to be known in popular parlance. With your GTalk ID and password not being detected any more (see image below), for now, there is no other option but to switch to the Hangout app if you wish to continue using Google's instant messaging service. Google has been pushing the messaging app Hangout, but GTalk has been the most preferred choice for many users in India and abroad, thanks to its file-sharing and chatting in the invisible-mode features.

Earlier, search major Google had reported that it plans to discontinue all GTalk services on February 16. But Google product manager ( Google Voice and Hangouts), Mayur Kamat, stated on a Google+ post, "The Google Talk app for Windows will be deprecated on February 23, 2015". He further added, "This will allow us to focus on bringing you the most robust and expressive communications experience with Google Hangouts."

However, Kamat in his post also shared, "If you're not ready to make the switch to Hangouts quite yet, you can continue using Google Talk on Windows with a range of compatible third-party chat apps like Jitsi, Psi, Instantbird, Miranda IM and many others (http://goo.gl/FSbCX5). Please keep in mind these aren’t Google products, so exercise caution when signing in with your Google account."




We tried logging on to GTalk Friday morning. And after several failed attempts, we kept getting the above message. Google sent a mail on our Gmail account stating: 'Google Talk for Windows is no longer supported.'

The mail says,

Hi user,

We noticed that you recently tried using the Google Talk app for Windows. We wanted to let you know that this was discontinued on 23 February 2015. We recommend giving Hangouts a try so that you can chat with all of your Google contacts. Hangouts supports people’s favourite features from Google Talk, including text chat, presence, contact lists and status messages. In addition, Hangouts lets you have group video chats, make phone calls, express yourself with emojis and keep your conversations going across Android, iOS and your computer.

If messaging right from your desktop is important to you, try the Hangouts Chrome app or Hangouts in Gmail. If you’re not ready to make the switch to Hangouts quite yet, you can continue using Google Talk on Windows with a range of compatible third-party chat apps. (Please bear in mind that these aren’t Google products, so exercise caution when signing in with your Google account.)

As a loyal Google Talk user, we thank you for your support and we hope that you give us the opportunity to provide an even better communications experience with Google Hangouts.

If this sign-in attempt was not made by you, please check details on your Devices and Activity page

Sincerely,
The Google Talk and Hangouts team

So, if you are panicking about your PC acting up and you not being able to log on to GTalk and chat with your buddies, stress not. You are not alone in this!