To better accommodate the need for team-based chat and collaboration, Google Hangouts Chat is now available for use at U-M. Hangouts Chat is a G Suite for Education core service. It is free and covered under U-M’s agreement with Google and also can be used for certain kinds of sensitive data. It should not be used for protected health information (PHI) or HIPAA-regulated data.
For several years, Google classic Hangouts has been a part of Google at U-M and is integrated into Google Mail. Hangouts Chat is an updated, team-based experience, and will eventually replace classic Hangouts. This will happen sometime in late 2020, until then, the two services will co-exist.
Getting started
To learn more about Hangouts Chat, visit U-M’s “Getting Started with Google Hangouts Chat” documentation article or U-M Google support site. You can also visit Google’s Hangouts Chat Help Center or Learning Center for additional information.
Current limitations
- Hangouts Chat does not yet integrate directly into U-M Google Mail but is expected to later this year.
- There are a number of constraints related to interoperability between classic Hangouts and Hangouts Chat.
Interested in our latest updates about Google at U-M? Check out the Google Service Updates page or join the U-M Collaboration Forum.
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