Google removes SMS function from Hangouts

From May 22, it will no longer be possible to receive and send text messages with Google’s chat app Hangouts. The search giant has sent out emails to users recommending that they set up a different app for the text messaging feature on smartphones.

Users will receive notifications from Monday if they still use the feature to warn them, according to an email that appeared in its entirety on Reddit. Several users confirm the existence of the email.

Google is removing the feature because of the effort it puts into other features of the chat application, such as video conferencing and group chats. It seems that Google is building a business chat app such as Slack or Hipchat.

Hangouts has been supporting SMS since October 2013, and Google once wanted to make Hangouts its overarching chat app. That is different now. Last year, the search giant presented chat service Allo and video calling app Duo. In addition, it has some other services for chatting.