After a report detailed the company’s plans with the messaging service, Google today formally announced it will shut down its not-so-popular app Allo in 2019. Specifically, Google says users will have until March of next year to use the app and transfer their conversations to another service. Beyond that point, it’s likely the app will simply stop working.
The ultimate shutdown of Allo comes as no surprise. Google initially paused development of the app earlier this year to focus on Android Messages and RCS Chat. The latter is starting to roll out to Pixel 3 customers today on Verizon, indicating the work Google put in actually paid off. And even if they didn’t move the Allo team to the RCS team, it still would’ve been smart to pull the plug since not many people actually use the service.
With the shutdown of Allo, many may wonder whether Google plans to shutter the app that was released alongside it, Duo. Fortunately, the video calling platform will remain active and won’t be going anywhere any time soon. “It’s one of Google’s highest rated mobile apps and is seeing strong growth and engagement across both Android and iOS,” according to the company.
“This year we launched Duo support for iPad, Android Tablet, Chromebook, and Smart Displays, giving you more flexibility to make calls from your favorite devices. We also launched the ability to leave a video message, and will continue to bring more quality improvements based on machine learning that make video calls with Duo simple and reliable.”
In addition, Google notes yet again it will be transferring users of Hangouts classic to the more business-oriented Hangouts Chat and Meet. In today’s announcement, the company says “at some point” this change will take place, so there’s really no telling as to when we can expect it. Reports have the shutdown and transfer pegged for 2020, but we’ll have to see how that plays out over the next year.
