Google’s failed social network Google+’s replacement, Currents, is shutting down on July 5, 2023. Workspace administrators can export Currents data using Takeout before August 8, 2023.
The company announced that it is planning to wind down the Currents platform and replace it with Google Chat, where admins will get greater control to limit permissions for posting in space while allowing members to read and react to the messages. Google has already added expressive features such as in-line threading and custom emojis.
Google also plans to simplify membership management by integrating Google Groups with spaces in Chat, enabling post-level metrics for announcements and providing tools for Workspace administrators to manage space across their domains.
The company believes that transitioning from Currents to Google Chat removes a “separate, siloed destination and provides organisations with a modern, enterprise-grade experience”. It is worth noting that Currents was not popular among professionals with only three blog posts about it on Google’s Workspace Updates page.
Another one bites the dust
It is not the first time that Google is closing a service named Currents. The same moniker previously belonged to a magazine app by Google. Moreover, it’s also not the first product shut down by the tech titan this year, as Stadia was shut down in January. Google Allo, Hangouts, Play Music, and Inbox, are among the dozen-plus products that got the axe in the past decade.
Google Currents was introduced as a replacement for Google+ in beta in April 2019, followed by an official release on July 6, 2020. It was primarily designed to enable internal communications for Google’s enterprise solution, Google Workplace.
“We will continue to make Google Chat the best option for Workspace customers seeking to build a community and culture for hybrid teams, with much more to come later this year,” Google announced on Wednesday.
In the News: Hyundai suffers data breach in France and Italy
