Filter Ratings and Reviews
Filter 447 vetted Google Hangouts (Classic) reviews and ratings
Reviews (1-25 of 67)
January 22, 2020
Replacing Hangouts with Google chat
We were using Google Hangouts across all the organization. The idea was to communicate with our teammates easily with questions and doubts that didn't have to be delivered by mail. It was intended to be for more casual conversation and maybe some questions that just required a confirmation. Discussions and important topics were done within mail or meetings.
- Casual chatting
- Promoting conversation between teammates
- Images, gifs and emojis.
- Group chat
- Topic conversation
- Search for some message
January 13, 2020
Hands down best videocall app
We use it regularly for our sales team meetings. We have a big group (about 20-30 people) and many of them are located many states away from our HQ. Communications run very fluid and with very low latency. It also has superior audio quality compared to other similar apps. It has a great tool for desktop/slideshow sharing.
- It's totally free.
- You can run it in almost any platform.
- It's very easy to set up and use, with a clean and intuitive interface.
- It doesn't have Chromecast support for video streaming.
- It requires a stable and relatively high bandwidth.
- There are minor bugs from time to time
I have been using Google Hangouts for a long time now, I find it very reliable because first of all it is easy to use, and while emailing you can sidewise have chat with your colleagues, friends, etc. Other then this you can send files, documents, images, and videos as well. You can do screen sharing and video calling with the clients, colleagues, friends, and family members.
- Screen sharing.
- Video conferencing.
- Chatting.
- Emojis.
- Sending documents.
- They should allow you to connect more than 100 people at a time.
- A news feed should be there.
December 11, 2019
Hangout with Google Hangouts
We use Gmail as our email server, hence Google Hangouts is available to all in the company. It is a good communication device. We use it to message each other and schedule meetings as employees are located in different sites. Many employees have a Gmail account, so most times there is no learning curve in training employees how to use the app.
- Easy to use. Little to no training required.
- No set up required as we use it with Gmail server.
- Google Hangouts can only be used if you have a Google account. This is not much of a problem as many people have it.
- It lacks advanced features like a waiting room for participants that join early.
Our whole organization is using Google Hangouts for organization-wide communication between employees. It helps us to show demos from offshore locations to customers by sharing the screen. This is a good and much-needed product.
- Google Hangouts extension is available. It provides a separate window to see the messages.
- Video quality is great.
- Video/voice call recording feature.
September 23, 2019
Google Hangouts is a Great Option if Budget is a Concern
I use Google Hangouts to collaborate with team members for different initiatives. Primarily it's used like Microsoft Teams. I can do video calls, chat, and share documentation with other members. I find that it's a great tool if everyone is on Gmail already. If not, it's not hard to use. Anyone can pick it up and start using it.
- I love that I can use it seamlessly between my desktop and phone or tablet. In fact, I think I prefer the mobile experience to the desktop version. Very easy to use. We had a call where everyone was a new user except for the organizer, and everyone got in fine. Video quality is really good too.
- I like that it saves my chats: I can go back and review for things I either forgot or need to verify. It also helps to see who's available for a chat as well. I know before I try to message them if they're available or not.
- I like how I can separate my groups as needed. It's organized incredibly well. I can have one-on-one chats or group chats as well.
- I'd like the ability to edit chats. I get why that feature isn't offered, but it would be a nice alternative to clean up language or disparaging remarks about organizations or individuals involved in the chat. I know you can't stop people from including things they may regret in the chat, but it would be nice to edit those after they were sent.
- Again, I use this personally for my volunteer work outside of my day-to-day job. That being said, if it had a more professional feel, I'd feel great about recommending it to my organization. However, we already have a solution in place (Microsoft Teams), which I honestly like better.
- I get the impression that Hangouts was made in mind for small to medium-sized groups, which is great. It's not designed for large groups or corporate use. This really isn't a negative, but just something to consider before jumping into it.
September 17, 2019
Come Hangout With Google Hangouts
Google Hangouts provides strong audio over the internet, for free. It is easy to connect on the go as well with their integrated mobile app. Since everything is linked to your Google Account, it is easy to quickly to integrate into a business that already utilizes the Google platform to maintain its online contact services. In addition to high-quality audio, Google Hangouts also provides good video chat and messaging functionality that can also be used on mobile devices.
- High-quality audio.
- High-quality video.
- Integration of messaging.
- Mobile application.
- Integration with Google.
- Limited controls.
- No desktop application.
- Groups can be a bit confusing.
November 18, 2019
Hangouts is just that... a hangout
We use Google Hangouts for communications outside of our internal network. It solves the problem of communicating with people outside our network without having to leave our desktop.
- the interface is user friendly
- the use case is to the point
- it is easy to add and remove contacts
- file sharing isn't the greatest
- history deletion
- connecting different accounts to the interface
September 26, 2019
Google Hangouts - the easiest option out there
We use this product across the organization, mainly for internal meetings to speak to each other. When we have to speak to anyone externally we will use Zoom, but considering that the entire company uses the Google Suite for most products, this is the easiest way to communicate with each other.
- Ease of access
- Easy to understand how to first use
- Syncs well with other products
- Blurry quality happens more with Hangouts than other apps
- Sounds like a small note, but better sounds and ringtones
- Sometimes the hangouts chat vs video feature can be confusing
September 25, 2019
Google Hangout Has Potential But Still Needs Improvement
We have been trying to use Google Hangouts to conduct help sessions with people that we can not meet with in person. We would like to add it to our customer service options so our customers can have their questions answered with a visual or demonstration. This will enhance the personal touch and outreach to our customers.
- We can open up Google Hangouts and have a face to face meeting.
- It's fairly easy to use once you've done it a couple of times. You do have some back and forth with each user/session until it gets set up and going.
- It sets up communication in real time, faster then chat. And you have the visual.
- The quality of the internet connection is very important. A bad connection is frustrating and a time waster. And there's no way to tell in advance how the connection will be until you start the hangout.
- More instructions on the home page or a section that opens up with answers to common problems would help.
- The camera that each side uses is also crucial. Any improvement in that or having a way to evaluate how the image will be or could be improved would be useful.
Google Hangouts is used as a communications platform across all departments of the organization. It allows users to chat with one another, make audio and video calls, and even host webinars. It is integrated with the organization's Google Suite account and all users within the company are given access to these features.
- Ease of use -- all features are user-friendly, even for non-technical employees
- Integration -- Hangouts integrates seamlessly with all other Google products
- Improvements -- as a Google product, the software is continuously updating and improving
- Video quality -- the video quality is not as high as some comparable products
- Support -- nearly all support is handled through documentation and forums
We utilize Google Hangouts for team meetings and 1:1 calls. Most of the organization uses it. It does connect our team quickly and, usually, easily.
- Click to join
- Video
- Chat
- Connection sometimes the connection is dropped.
- Sound quality and sound features.
- Single link meetings and meeting start and end times.
September 21, 2019
Not enterprise-ready and can't compete with Slack and Zoom
Used for 1-on-1 comms that are more personal than business. We previously used it for all business communication until Slack was introduced but now usage has fallen. It is still used because it is free but we know it will eventually be deprecated or charged for, and at that point we will retire it, as Slack is incredible.
- Gifs.
- One on one communication.
- Push notifications.
- Desktop UX.
- Mobile app reliability.
- Group communications.
- Integrations.
- History.
- Search.
September 21, 2019
Google Hangouts is still a good option for online meetings
Google Hangouts is used by our team to do virtual meetings. We use Google Meet more than Google Hangouts, because we have GSuite and we feel like Google Meet is slightly better. But, many times some of our freelancer employees (that are not in GSuite) start a meeting by Google Hangouts and we use it with no problem, as it is too a great tool for non-presencial meetings
- Google Hangouts is easy to use.
- Google Hangouts is a well known tool, so most people already know how to use it.
- Usually I don't have any problems with the connection, and the meetings take place perfectly.
- Google Hangouts don't have all the functions of Google Meet.
- Sometimes it's complicated to understand how to enter a meeting, even one that you were invited.
- It's confusing that Google has communication tools that are slightly different, but with the same purpose.
September 21, 2019
Easy to use, easy to implement, and easy on the wallet.
Allows face to face conversation to help build a rapport with clients and colleagues.
- Multiple users at once
- Multi-platform support
- Low learning curve
- No desktop implementation
- Lack of analytics
- No low bandwidth setup
September 21, 2019
Great for business and personal use
Google Hangouts is perfect for communication platform which eases up internal meetups or meetings. Very convenient for small issue discussion. Overall the performance that this software has is satisfactory. The user interface is friendly without any complications.
- Web meetings.
- Conference record feature.
- Great screen sharing system.
- Set up is a bit confusing.
- Google App suite might be not so convenient to a non-tech person.
- Camera controlling has flaws.
Hangouts is a great communication tool. All of us in the organization use it. It is very fast, easy to use, works on any device, and best of all, is free. We communicate internally via Hangouts because even as a video conference provider, it works better than Skype and other alternatives. Audio and video quality is better than on other platforms.
- Audio and video quality is very good, better than the competition.
- It works great on any device.
- It integrates perfectly with the rest of Google's suite of products.
- You can't edit or delete a chat after it has been sent. That's a feature they should implement.
- The interphase on the email can be improved. It's easy to miss incoming messages.
- It does not have a desktop software.
September 20, 2019
Hangouts is a nice IM\calling option for collaborating outside an organizational structure
Hangouts is used primarily to interact when collaborating on documents/files in Google Drive. Although Google Drive has built-in chat and commenting capabilities, it's nice to be able to have more of a record, and to communicate outside of the documents we're currently working in. This is especially nice since it's integrated with Google.
- Hangouts makes it easy to transition between chatting, calling, etc.
- Before the demise of Google+, it was beautifully integrated with that platform.
- Hangouts keeps a nice record of your chats that can be accessed easily from within Gmail or other Google platforms.
- Hangouts sometimes doesn't alert me to a new chat or invite, especially from people not already in my Google contacts.
- There's not much to complain about, it mostly just works the way it should!
September 20, 2019
Convenient chat and video conferencing!
We use Google Hangouts daily as a chat tool, and occasionally for videoconferencing. It's especially useful for videoconferencing on mobile devices, cross-platform. It's nice as a chat system, because it's right in the email, so you don't need to log into a separate program or website to use it. I've almost always been impressed with the speed, accessibility, and navigation.
- Ease of use: very simple to use.
- Cross-platform: works in browsers and apps for all mobile devices.
- Integrated functionality: videoconferencing, image insertion, etc.
- Missed notifications: Sometimes I'll get a chat message, but won't get a notification. The send will either be oddly delayed, or it just won't register as a new message.
- Invitations: In order to chat with someone new, you need to send them an "invitation." I wish it was a bit more automatic that you could chat with anyone at your organization.
- File sharing: I wish you could send files, not just photos.
September 14, 2019
Google Hangouts is a great product
Google Hangouts is being used by our organization to mainly host internal meetings and have quick calls with colleagues from other departments or managers to ask questions, host 1:1's and at times will be used as a back up to GoToMeeting if GoToMeeting is down or not working. It solves the issue of having to message back and forth and being able to hop on a quick call to sync internally.
- Very reliable software which is extremely important for getting things done!
- Easy to use and intuitive to set up.
- Integrates with Google Calendar very well and makes it easy to sync internally.
- Google Hangouts would be great if it had call analytics.
- Google Hangouts seems a bit complicated if you are running a multiple person meeting.
- Google Hangouts doesn't notify me at time when people are calling in, having this solved would be a benefit to me.
Google Hangouts is one communication tool that I use for my business. It allows me to stay in touch with clients and vendors and to easily complete video calls or conference calls with multiple people. Hangouts is used both through the desktop client as well as the mobile app. It is an easy choice for my business, as it is included in the Google apps package.
- Mobile communication through the iOS and android app is solid when you are on the go.
- Video conferencing with multiple people is easy and has the technology to record and focus on the person speaking.
- Online chat is at the core of the product and it performs this well within the organization.
- Google’s communication initiative as a whole could use some work and clarity. It can be very confusing to understand what product Google is focusing on, as Hangouts started as a service for everyone, but has since moved to a professional app. It is a little unnerving wondering if they will keep it around for the long term.
- The desktop client is attached to chrome as a Web app, which seems to work all right, but forces the organization to use Chrome.
We use Google Hangouts like texting as a quick way to communicate with our backend in the next city over.
- Hangouts is great for instant messaging.
- I use Hangouts to get an answer from our other office while I'm on phone with a client. It's instant like text but accessible from the browser.
- Rarely, I use Hangouts to make phone calls. It's also good for this.
- Hangouts does everything I need it to and I cannot think of anything it needs.
Google Hangouts is one of those programs that I said to myself "how did I live without this"? It has saved me so much time not having to go search for the person I have questions for...I can just send them a chat and they can answer almost immediately. Chatting reminds me of texting, basically the same thing. There have been times that I have gone searching for an employee with a question for several minutes. Those minutes on some days are very valuable. Anything that helps myself and the staff be more efficient is a business need in my book.
- Google Hangouts is a great way to save time and be more efficient. Before our company started using it I would spend several minutes several times a day searching for an employee that I had a question for. With Google Hangouts it takes a matter of seconds to send them a "chat" and a few seconds to get the response back. Valuable time is saved.
- I also really love the group chat option and use that regularly as well. When developing a marketing campaign for one of our clients there are many steps and questions along the way. This allows me to send a group chat to all that are on the team to find out what step they are on and when completion can be expected.
- I also really like that I get notifications when I get a chat. I don't always have my email open so that I would know when someone sent me a message, but Google Hangouts will flash a senders name on the email tab letting me know that I have a chat waiting to be read. Very good feature.
- When sending group chats or responding to group chats there are times when one or more of those people in the group do not need to be included later in the chatting session and I still have not figured out how to drop someone from the chat.
- As previously stated one of the pros is that it gives you notification on the upper tab when you have a chat waiting, but sometimes it doesn't do the notification or it doesn't "pop" until I go to the tab. This is only sometimes so not sure what would cause this.
September 05, 2019
One tool for all the platforms and an entire world of users to Hangout
It's being used as "the communication tool" for the entire company, an Argentinian software company. There are no phones, only Gsuite tools, and Hangouts is used to chat, call, video call and not only with company employees but also with external participants as well, because most people have already a Google account and probably even experience with the tool itself, making the whole process easier.
- One tool, many uses: chat, audio call, video call, interact with Meet or any other Google tool, perfectly integrated.
- One tool, any platform.
- Cell phone? No problem.
- Tablet? No problem.
- PC? No problem.
- No matter what OS you're using, you can Hangout.
- One tool, many people to connect: almost everybody I know has a Google account, or even the other way around, I think I don´t know anybody without a Google account, so they're all a potential Hangouts contacts.
- You may find a low video quality comparing with other tools and pointing specifically to video calls.
- It's not the lightest chat tool, it's phone app is rather slow.
- The way it handles group chats is not my favorite.
August 29, 2019
Convenient Solution for Video Conferencing
We used Google Hangouts as a way to communicate with a group on users across several campuses as a method of enhancing project management calls. Alternatives such as conference calls or webinar formats didn't allow for the level of meaningful conversation that we wanted. Hangouts gave us a way to see the other people on the call and check their reactions in real time and allowed anyone to show through the video feed items that may be hard to describe with only voice.
- Video Interaction. Being able to see each other face to face prevented those awkward situations we're people are all trying to talk at once or when you are not sure who is speaking.
- High quality video. The video feeds were clear enough to see graphs, charts, or text that participants wanted to share with the group.
- Ease of use. Almost everyone has a Google account anymore so getting people on the Hangouts were never an issue.
- Voice quality. You can easily tell who the person is that is speaking and if they have left their mic on and are picking up background noise from a certain user. I never had trouble clearly hearing other users.
- With many people on a Hangout on a mobile screen I felt that things were harder to track and manage. If people are thoughtful it is easier.
- I found it difficult to track the chat and the video at the same time. If people were typing into the chat window it wasn't obvious what that conversation was while a Hangout was occurring.
- Google Meet has taken over some of the space the Hangouts previously has done for us. If you are looking at alternatives it does have some similar features and is a robust product.
Google Hangouts (Classic) Scorecard Summary
Feature Scorecard Summary
About Google Hangouts (Classic)
Callers can use Hangouts to:
- Start a chat conversation or video call.
- Make phone calls using Wi-Fi or data.
- Send text messages with a Google Voice or Google Fi phone number.
Hangouts sync automatically across devices. Hangouts started on a computer, can continue with chat on another device, like a phone.
- In March 2017, Google announced plans to evolve classic Hangouts to focus on two experiences designed to help bring teams together: Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet. Both Chat and Meet are available for G Suite customers and will be made available for consumer users as well. Google is planning to transition users from classic Hangouts to Chat and Meet after June 2020.
- Classic Hangouts is not available in China.
Google Hangouts (Classic) Technical Details
| Operating Systems: | Unspecified |
|---|---|
| Mobile Application: | No |