Apps Documentation & Support
The new Google+ Hangouts - a solution that replaces all other chat experiences, including Google Chat, Google Talk, and Google+ Messenger - is now available. Google Apps Admins can decide whether or not to opt in to this new messaging experience for their users. For more information, see the The new Google+ Hangouts article.
Voice and video chat in Gmail works only in supported browsers. Note that voice and video chat has some known compatibility problems with Mac OS X v10.6.8. Learn more
Sometimes reading a chat message doesn't deliver the same impact as hearing the message or having a face-to-face conversation. You might therefore want to use voice and video capabilities in your Gmail chat. From within Gmail, you can have an actual voice conversation with someone, or even chat face-to-face over video.
When you video chat in Gmail, you use Google+ Hangouts:
- Google+ users can video chat from Gmail with up to nine other people and the full functionality of Google+ Hangouts.
- If you haven't enabled Google+, users can hold 1:1 video chats with a limited version of Google+ Hangouts.
- If a Google+ user starts a hangout with someone who does not have Google+, or vice versa, both participants will see the 1:1 version of hangouts.
See Make a computer to computer voice or video chat to get started using video chats in Gmail.
Video chat with Google+ Hangouts is not currently available in India. Domains in India use the legacy version of video chat.
The legacy video chat functionality is also available in all locations for a limited time from the drop-down Options menu in the Gmail chat interface. See Video chat in Gmail with Hangouts to learn more about the transition from the legacy version of video chat to Hangouts.
The legacy video chat functionality is also available in all locations for a limited time from the drop-down Options menu in the Gmail chat interface. See Video chat in Gmail with Hangouts to learn more about the transition from the legacy version of video chat to Hangouts.
Note that Hangouts in Gmail respect the Google Admin console setting for disabling video chats. If you have video chats disabled, users won’t be able to participate in hangouts or the legacy video chat functionality.
To disable hangouts and video chats- Sign in to the Google Admin console.
- Do one of the following:
- In the classic Admin console, click Settings > Talk.
- In the new Admin console, click Google Apps > Talk.
Where is it? Which Admin console do I have?
- Select the organization where you want to disable video chats.
- In the Additional Services section, uncheck Allow users to place video calls from chat to other chat users.
