<s>
Google	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
(	O
formerly	O
known	O
as	O
Hangouts	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
)	O
is	O
a	O
communication	O
service	O
developed	O
by	O
Google	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
It	O
can	O
be	O
accessed	O
through	O
its	O
own	O
website	O
and	O
app	O
or	O
through	O
the	O
Gmail	B-Application
website	O
and	O
app	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
first	O
launched	O
on	O
March	O
9	O
,	O
2017	O
,	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
two	O
apps	O
that	O
constitute	O
the	O
replacement	O
for	O
Google	B-Protocol
Hangouts	I-Protocol
,	O
the	O
other	O
being	O
Google	B-Protocol
Meet	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
renamed	O
to	O
Google	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
on	O
April	O
9	O
,	O
2020	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
initially	O
only	O
available	O
for	O
Google	B-Application
Workspace	I-Application
customers	O
,	O
but	O
in	O
February	O
2021	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
began	O
rolling	O
out	O
Google	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
in	O
"	O
early	O
access	O
"	O
to	O
regular	O
consumer	O
accounts	O
until	O
it	O
became	O
fully	O
available	O
in	O
April	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
deprecated	O
the	O
original	O
Hangouts	B-Protocol
and	O
replaced	O
it	O
with	O
Chat	O
on	O
November	O
1	O
,	O
2022	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
was	O
first	O
launched	O
as	O
Hangouts	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
on	O
March	O
9	O
,	O
2017	O
,	O
for	O
Google	B-Application
Workspace	I-Application
(	O
called	O
G	B-Application
Suite	I-Application
until	O
October	O
2020	O
)	O
customers	O
only	O
as	O
a	O
replacement	O
for	O
Google	B-Protocol
Hangouts	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
G	B-Application
Suite	I-Application
packages	O
had	O
identical	O
features	O
except	O
for	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
Vault	O
data	O
retention	O
in	O
the	O
Basic	O
package	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
April	O
9	O
,	O
2020	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
rebranded	O
Hangouts	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
to	O
Google	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
this	O
rebranding	O
,	O
and	O
along	O
with	O
a	O
similar	O
change	O
for	O
Hangouts	B-Protocol
Meet	I-Protocol
,	O
the	O
Hangouts	B-Protocol
brand	O
is	O
to	O
be	O
removed	O
from	O
Google	B-Application
Workspace	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
first	O
announced	O
their	O
plan	O
to	O
begin	O
retiring	O
Google	B-Protocol
Hangouts	I-Protocol
in	O
October	O
2019	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
2020	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
announced	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
open	O
Google	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
up	O
to	O
consumers	O
in	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
also	O
announced	O
that	O
Hangouts	B-Protocol
conversations	O
,	O
contacts	O
,	O
and	O
history	O
would	O
be	O
migrated	O
over	O
to	O
Google	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
began	O
to	O
roll	O
out	O
to	O
consumer	O
accounts	O
in	O
"	O
early	O
access	O
"	O
in	O
February	O
2021	O
,	O
but	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
Google	B-Application
stated	O
that	O
Hangouts	B-Protocol
would	O
remain	O
a	O
consumer-level	O
product	O
for	O
people	O
using	O
standard	O
Google	B-Application
accounts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
April	O
2021	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
became	O
fully	O
available	O
for	O
free	O
as	O
an	O
"	O
early	O
access	O
"	O
service	O
,	O
for	O
users	O
who	O
choose	O
to	O
use	O
it	O
instead	O
of	O
Hangouts	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2021	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
started	O
automatically	O
signing	O
out	O
Google	B-Protocol
Hangouts	I-Protocol
users	O
on	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
Android	B-Application
and	O
notifying	O
them	O
to	O
switch	O
to	O
Google	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
plans	O
to	O
deprecate	O
Google	B-Protocol
Hangouts	I-Protocol
and	O
replace	O
it	O
with	O
Google	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
in	O
early	O
2022	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2022	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
announced	O
plans	O
to	O
begin	O
the	O
final	O
migration	O
of	O
all	O
Google	B-Application
Workspace	I-Application
customers	O
from	O
Google	B-Protocol
Hangouts	I-Protocol
to	O
Google	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
,	O
which	O
is	O
scheduled	O
to	O
be	O
finalized	O
in	O
May	O
2022	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2022	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
announced	O
all	O
Hangouts	B-Protocol
data	O
would	O
be	O
deleted	O
by	O
January	O
1	O
,	O
2023	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
is	O
divided	O
into	O
two	O
sections	O
,	O
chat	O
and	O
spaces	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
access	O
Google	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
from	O
its	O
website	O
and	O
app	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
can	O
also	O
be	O
accessed	O
through	O
its	O
integration	O
with	O
the	O
Gmail	B-Application
website	O
and	O
app	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2022	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
announced	O
that	O
Chat	O
would	O
display	O
banners	O
warning	O
users	O
against	O
potential	O
phishing	O
and	O
malware	O
attacks	O
coming	O
from	O
personal	O
accounts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
development	O
for	O
Google	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
was	O
the	O
latest	O
attempt	O
to	O
prevent	O
phishing	O
and	O
security	O
breaches	O
for	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spaces	O
,	O
originally	O
called	O
Rooms	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
chat	O
room	O
feature	O
built	O
within	O
Google	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
for	O
topic-based	O
collaboration	O
,	O
with	O
shared	O
files	O
,	O
tasks	O
and	O
conversations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
functions	O
alongside	O
Google	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
and	O
Google	B-Protocol
Meet	I-Protocol
to	O
integrate	O
group	O
productivity	O
features	O
like	O
message	O
threading	O
and	O
real-time	O
collaboration	O
to	O
organize	O
topic-based	O
conversations	O
without	O
exiting	O
Gmail	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
feature	O
revives	O
the	O
brand	O
name	O
previously	O
used	O
in	O
an	B-Protocol
unrelated	I-Protocol
service	I-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
the	I-Protocol
same	I-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
from	O
2016	O
to	O
2017	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
rebranding	O
occurring	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
expansion	O
of	O
Google	B-Application
Workspace	I-Application
to	O
all	O
users	O
in	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spaces	O
also	O
allow	O
users	O
to	O
change	O
the	O
name	O
of	O
the	O
chat	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
not	O
possible	O
with	O
group	O
conversations	O
,	O
and	O
they	O
allow	O
users	O
to	O
only	O
be	O
notified	O
when	O
they	O
are	O
mentioned	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
service	O
is	O
accessible	O
from	O
within	O
Gmail	B-Application
alongside	O
Chat	O
and	O
Meet	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	B-Application
Google	I-Application
Workspace	O
expansion	O
to	O
all	O
Gmail	B-Application
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
relaunch	O
,	O
Spaces	O
allows	O
up	O
to	O
8,000	O
users	O
to	O
collaborate	O
on	O
projects	O
and	O
utilize	O
other	O
Workspace	O
features	O
such	O
as	O
creating	O
Google	B-Application
Drive	I-Application
documents	O
and	O
Google	B-Protocol
Meet	I-Protocol
meetings	O
from	O
within	O
a	O
Space	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
integration	O
with	O
Task	O
creation	O
and	O
Calendar	O
availability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2022	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
rolled	O
out	O
a	O
new	O
Gmail	B-Application
interface	O
for	O
Workspace	O
that	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
better	O
integrate	O
Spaces	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
Chat	O
and	O
Meet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spaces	O
is	O
expected	O
to	O
gain	O
increased	O
functionality	O
when	O
Google	B-Application
Currents	I-Application
is	O
shut	O
down	O
sometime	O
in	O
2023	O
and	O
user	O
content	O
is	O
moved	O
to	O
Spaces	O
.	O
</s>
