Google is shutting down smart messenger Allo

Search engine giant Google had in 2018 announced that it is taking down its Allo, the smart messenger app in March 2019. It seems like the time has come and a banner across the official website of Allo has clearly stated that the app is shutting down on March 12, 2019. The users will have to export all the chats if they do not want them to get vanished.

The Help Page of Allo has said that the conversations of the users can be downloaded along with the phones, videos and files in them by going in to Chat under Settings. All the messages will be saved as CSV file and the media will be downloaded as a zip package.

Google had originally launched the Allo as a video chat service, Duo in 2016. The service soon caught attention of the users and soon managed to get a good user base enough for it to sustain but it never quite became a hit among the masses. This is the reason, the company decided to pull back Allo and give away some of its features like the Smart Reply and GIFs to its RCS enabled Messages App.

Last year Google had said, “We built Google Allo, a smart messaging app, to help you get more done in your chats and express yourself more easily. Earlier this year we paused investment in Allo and brought some of its most-loved features—like Smart Reply, GIFs and desktop support—into Messages. Given Messages’ continued momentum, we’ve decided to stop supporting Allo to focus on Messages. Allo will continue to work through March 2019 and until then, you’ll be able to export all of your existing conversation history from the app—here are instructions on how to do so. We’ve learned a lot from Allo, particularly what’s possible when you incorporate machine learning features, like the Google Assistant, into messaging.” Still no Allo or WhatsApp relying primarily on carriers for both SMS and RCS.

Photo Credits: Ars Technica