Google HangoutsSource: Android Central

What you need to know

  • Google has removed the button to share your location in Hangouts chats with the latest update.
  • However, you can still share your location if you initiate it from Google Maps.
  • Sharing your location from within the app is still supported by Google's Messages app.

The writing has been on the wall for a while now, Hangouts is on the way out, but in the meantime, Google has been busy stripping it of features. Probably in an effort to depreciate it enough that most users will proactively switch, or at least not miss it once it's gone.

In May of last year, we saw SMS stripped out of the app, one of its most useful features, which made it possible to do most of your chatting all in one app. Google also removed the custom ringtones from the app as well, with an update in 2019.

Now, with the latest update, Hangouts has lost the option to share your location. Most likely, sharing your location wasn't a frequently used feature, but when you needed it, having it at the push of a button was priceless.

Google Hangouts with location buttonGoogle Hangouts update with location sharing removedSource: Android Central

Even though the button has been removed, it's still possible to share your location via Hangouts, but now it will have to be initiated through Google Maps. That requires you to open a different app, find the location, and then click the share button. Far more cumbersome than clicking a button from within Hangouts itself.

Regardless, there's no denying that Hangouts days are numbered, Google already delayed the transition to Hangouts Chat and Meet from 2019 till June 2020. Now, with it regularly removing features, I don't think we can expect it to be postponed yet again. Plus, with Google's big push for RCS, it's clear it wants you to switch to the Messages, where it's still possible to share your location within the app.

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