Users can chat with each other inside the Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides files they are working on together with classic Hangouts.
Administrators can turn off chat inside Docs, Sheets, and Slides by turning off classic Hangouts. See Choose a chat service for your organization.
Note: The classic Hangouts service is not available in Essentials edition. Chat is always turned off in Docs editors if you have an Essentials account.
Conditions that automatically turn off chat
Chat in Docs, Sheets, and Slides is automatically turned off for your users according to the applicable age in your country. Also, some chat history and sharing settings automatically disable chat in Docs, Sheets, and Slides. For example, chat is disabled when you:
- Select History is on, and uncheck the Allow users to change their history setting box. Learn more about chat history settings.
- Choose the External Chat setting Users can send messages outside your organization. Learn more about external chat settings.
- Turn off classic Hangouts by choosing Chat only for your organization, or by turning off both Google Chat and classic Hangouts. Learn more about choosing a chat service for your organization.
