A eulogy for every product Google has ruthlessly killed (145 and counting)

guest · Mar 22, 2019

A eulogy for every product Google has ruthlessly killed (145 and counting)
March 22, 2019
https://www.fastcompany.com/9032210...google-has-ruthlessly-killed-145-and-counting

Tez. Trendalyzer. Panoramio. Timeful. Bump! SlickLogin. BufferBox.
The names sound like a mix of mid-2000s blogs and startups you’d see onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt!. In fact, they are just some of the many, many products that Google has acquired or created–then killed.

In fact, Killed By Google is the first website to memorialize them all in one place. Created by front-end developer Cody Ogden, the site features a tombstone and epitaph for each product the company has killed since it originated.

“This project was born as an act of criticism toward a culture of software product churn. It was ignited by the announcement that Google would be killing Inbox by Gmail,” says Ogden.
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guest · Jun 6, 2019

This week’s dead Google product is Google Trips, may it rest in peace
Frequent travelers will need to look elsewhere for a trip info app
June 6, 2019
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/201...product-is-google-trips-may-it-rest-in-peace/

Google's wild ride of service shutdowns never stops. Next up on the chopping block is Google Trips, a trip organization app that is popular with frequent travelers.

Recently Google started notifying users of the pending shutdown directly in the Trips app; a splash screen now pops up before the app starts, saying "We're saying goodbye to Google Trips Aug 5," along with a link to a now all-too-familiar Google shutdown support document.
rips was a well-received app with more than five million downloads on the Play store and a 4.1 rating.

The death of Google Trips is part of Google's big travel revamp. The company recently launched the Google Travel website, which in addition to most of the Trips information, also serves as (wait for it...) a search engine for hotels, flights, and travel agency-style combo bookings.
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guest · Jun 21, 2019

Google is killing YouTube’s “Hangouts on Air” this year
June 21, 2019
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/06/google-is-killing-youtubes-hangouts-on-air-this-year/

Another day, another dead or dying Google product. This time, Google has decided to shut down "Hangouts on Air," a fairly popular service for broadcasting a group video call live over the Internet. Notices saying the service is "going away later this year" have started to pop up for users when they start a Hangout on Air.

Hangouts on Air was popular with podcasters, since it was a super easy way to get a group of people together, on video, and have the conversation broadcasted live. Hangouts on Air started life on Google+ and transitioned to a part of YouTube in 2016 [...]
The service had great features like chat, screenshare, and an automatic camera system that would switch to the person that was talking, making it perfect for easy podcast videos.

With Hangouts on Air dying, there really is no equivalent easy way to do a live streamed group video chat. Google's shutdown message points people to YouTube.com/webcam, but that page is only for a single person on a local webcam, not a group video chat.
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guest · Aug 5, 2019

mood said: ↑

This week’s dead Google product is Google Trips, may it rest in peace
Frequent travelers will need to look elsewhere for a trip info app
June 6, 2019
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/201...product-is-google-trips-may-it-rest-in-peace/
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Google shuts down its Trips travel planning app
August 5, 2019
https://www.engadget.com/2019/08/05/google-shuts-down-trips-app/

The company is shutting down its Trips travel app as of August 5th (that's today, if you're reading in time) in favor of steering users to both its reworked travel search as well as Google Maps.
Notes, saved places and reservations will still exist in search as long as you sign into your Google account.

The switch-up is unfortunate if you liked having all your vacation info in one place. However, it's not hard to see why Google might shutter Trips three years into its existence. Many of its once-special features are now available in a web browser or the Maps app you likely already have on your phone.
There's not much incentive to devote resources to a specialized app, especially when search and Maps offer more tools for adventurers.
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guest · Aug 27, 2019

Google will shut down Google Hire in 2020
August 27, 2019
https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/27/google-will-kill-off-google-hire-in-2020/

Google has disclosed that it will shut down Google Hire, the job application tracking system it launched just two years ago.
Google built Hire in an effort to simplify the hiring process, with a workflow that integrated things like searching for applicants, scheduling interviews, and providing feedback about potential hires into Google’s G Suite (Search/Gmail/Calendar/Docs etc.)

On the upside: it’s not getting the axe immediately. In fact, you can keep using it for over a full year; Google says it won’t actually be shutdown until September 1st of 2020. Just don’t expect any new features to be added.
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guest · Sep 11, 2019

Google Express to close in a few weeks, will become part of Google Shopping
September 11, 2019
https://techcrunch.com/2019/09/11/g...ew-weeks-will-become-part-of-google-shopping/

Google’s failed online shopping service Google Express is closing in a few weeks, as its features will be merged into a revamped version of Google Shopping, Google says in an email sent to its customers this week. The company had already announced its plans to shutter the Google Express brand, as part of a wider redesign of how it approached online shopping.

Google Express was Google’s high-profile attempt to compete with Amazon for online shopping clicks and ad dollars buy creating a virtual mall on the web filled with top retailers’ products.
But even several years after launch, Google Express had failed to offer any real threat to Amazon. Its retail partners, meanwhile, were building out their own fulfillment businesses for their customers’ online orders — like Walmart Grocery’s curbside pickup and delivery, for example, or Target’s Shipt, Drive Up, and Restock.
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guest · Sep 28, 2019

Google's hyperlocal news app 'Bulletin' is shutting down
September 26, 2019
https://www.androidpolice.com/2019/09/26/googles-hyperlocal-news-app-bulletin-is-shutting-down/

Google launched a new hyperlocal news service in early 2018 called Bulletin. It's understandable if you don't remember—Bulletin still hasn't moved out of the pilot phase, and it never will. Google has just alerted Bulletin users that it's shutting down the platform in November.

The idea behind bulletin was that users could post news from their neighborhood, allowing others in the same area to hear stories that would otherwise be lost in the shuffle. The service also relied on AMP to load pages quickly.
Google says Bulletin will close for good on November 22nd, at which time it will delete all remaining Bulletin content. If you used Bulletin and would like to save your stories, Google has added an export option.
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guest · Oct 17, 2019

Google’s Datally app for saving on mobile data is dead
October 17, 2019
https://thenextweb.com/google/2019/10/17/googles-datally-app-for-saving-on-mobile-data-is-dead/

Google’s data-saving app, Datally, has disappeared silently from the Play Store after two years since its release, noted the eagle-eyed folks at Android Police.

The app, launched in 2017, helped you keep a tab on data used by different apps and find Wi-Fi hotspots near you. AP’s report notes the app is active for current users, but it’s not compatible with Android 10.
We’ve asked Google for a comment, and we’ll update the story once we hear from them.
With that, the Google graveyard is expanding like a social media company with fresh funding.
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Android Police: Datally, Google's data-saving app, has been unceremoniously axed from the Play Store

guest · Nov 22, 2019

Google Cloud Print is dead as of December 31, 2020
November 21, 2019
https://9to5google.com/2019/11/21/google-cloud-print-dead-2020/

Google has announced that Cloud Print, its cloud-based printing solution, is being retired at the end of next year. It’s an early heads up, yes, but it’s a necessary one — Cloud Print is pretty widely used. Google recommends that users of Cloud Print “identify an alternative solution.” Which, of course they do.

The announcement comes in the form of a support document for Cloud Print that popped up recently, which is kind enough to remind us that Cloud Print has technically been in beta since it launched a decade ago…

"Cloud Print, Google’s cloud-based printing solution that has been in beta since 2010, will no longer be supported as of December 31, 2020. Beginning January 1, 2021, devices across all operating systems will no longer be able to print using Google Cloud Print. We recommend that over the next year, you identify an alternative solution and execute a migration strategy."
Google highlights many equivalent Chrome OS features that are already live or will be added to the operating system’s native printing functionality by the end of the year.
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guest · Nov 26, 2019

The Google graveyard: all the products Google has shut down
There’s a lot of them
November 26, 2019
https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/26...ad-not-supported-discontinues-spring-cleaning

Google releases a lot of products, but it shuts down a lot of them, too. Some didn’t deserve to be discontinued (we pine for the days of Reader and Inbox), and some probably weren’t long for this world from the start. (What was Google Wave supposed to be, anyway?) The company actually used to shut down products with quarterly “spring cleanings,” but now, it just does so whenever it’s time for another product to be put out to pasture.

Follow along here for all our coverage of everything Google sends to the graveyard.
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guest · Dec 13, 2019

What we can learn from a decade of dead Google projects
December 12, 2019
https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/12...-projects-discontinued-wave-glass-daydream-vr

To tell the story of the last 10 years at Google, it helps to look at the products that no longer exist.
The decade started with Wave (launched 9/09, deprecated 8/10), then Buzz (launched 2/10, deprecated 10/11). There was also a Wikipedia clone called Knol (launched 8/08, deprecated 3/12), [...]

These are just the ones that came to mind. The official Killed By Google tracker counts 194 separate projects discontinued since 2006, although the site’s creators admit that they may have missed a few.
There’s a pattern to these shutdowns: Google will announce something cool at its I/O developer conference with a hazy release date, it will ship six to 12 months later, and it’ll last a few years before the company decides it’s not worth the upkeep.
For anyone following the company closely, the cycle is relatively transparent, and it’s no less obvious from inside the company.

Google is still competing in smart home tech, live-streaming, and augmented reality, and I’m sure they have a lot of exciting ideas still in the pipeline. But each launch comes with an uncomfortable question: is Google really committed to this? Or is this one more product slowly headed to the Google Graveyard?
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guest · Jan 27, 2020

Google to shut down App Maker next year
January 27, 2020
https://www.neowin.net/news/google-to-shut-down-app-maker-next-year

Google has a reputation for killing off products and services. In fact, there's a whole website dedicated to products that are Killed by Google. The latest is App Maker, as the company announced today. The Mountain View firm blames low usage for the reason that it's killing off its low-code development solution.

App Maker will stop working on January 19, 2021, so your company has almost a year to prepare. Beginning on April 15, 2020, you'll no longer be able make new App Maker apps.
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Google has a few alternatives that you can use. If you use App Maker to automate business processes, the company suggests AppSheet, a service that it acquired just a couple of weeks ago. You can also use App Engine for Google Cloud Platform apps, or Google Forms for data collection.
You'll be able to export your app's database until the end of life date, so there's plenty of time to explore other solutions.
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Google: Google App Maker will be shut down on January 19, 2021

guest · Jan 29, 2020

Google is killing Google One Today, gives supporters only a week's notice
January 29, 2020
https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/...e-today-gives-supporters-only-a-weeks-notice/

Today Google has announced that it's killing its One Today service. This isn't the renamed Google Drive paid storage program, but an app-based donation system you've probably never heard of, haven't used, and won't miss. Those still using it have a week before it shuts down.

Google's One Today was an easy way to support non-profit causes, showing how money that was donated was actually going to be used, featuring stories and photos of the benefits they provided, with 100% of all donations going to the non-profits in question. Your privacy was protected, with non-profits never having access to your name or contact info, and tax deductions were even easy with a single year-end receipt.
The full message sent by Google to One Today supporters is just below: [...]

Not having two separate apps/services with confusingly similar names will probably be a net benefit to Google and its plans to pull more folks into paying for cloud storage and other benefits via Google One.
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guest · Apr 2, 2020

Google to shut down its India-focused Q&A app Neighbourly
April 2, 2020
https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/01/google-to-shut-down-its-india-focused-qa-app-neighbourly/

Google is shutting down Neighbourly, a Q&A social app that it launched in Mumbai two years ago, the company has informed users. A spokesperson confirmed the move to TechCrunch.
The app, developed by company’s Next Billion Initiative, aimed to give local communities an outlet to seek answers to practical questions about life, routine and more.

In an email, Google said Neighbourly helped users find answers to over a million questions, but it did not get the traction the company was hoping for. The app will shut down on May 12, but users have another six months to download their data.

“We launched Neighbourly as a beta product in Mumbai, India in May, 2018. We set out to build a helpful neighbourhood app that would let neighbours help each other find answers to everyday questions about their neighbourhoods. [...]”
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The app had such low-traction that third-party intelligence services such as App Annie and Sensor Tower don’t have any substantial data about it. But on Play Store, Neighbourly is listed to have more than 10 million downloads. The app was downloaded fewer than 5,000 times in February this year, according to Sensor Tower.
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guest · Apr 12, 2020

Google Wave’s Misfire Is A Lesson for Today's Real-Time Collaboration Tools
April 11, 2020
https://hackernoon.com/google-waves...todays-real-time-collaboration-tools-o17i3y0u

When Google Wave previewed at the 2009 I/O conference, it was a tool like no other. Not only was it the first unified workspace and collaboration platform before the remote-work boom happened, but it also tried to solve many of the same problems we’re facing today.
And yet, in less than two years, Google Wave failed.

Lack of product focus, positioning problems and lackluster release plan were only some of its problems.
With the renaissance of real-time collaboration tools in full swing, reflecting on the story of their predecessor can provide valuable lessons for the future.
[...]
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Google Wave was one of the first attempts at real-time collaboration. It had the potential to take the market by storm, but it didn’t.

Observing how the platform went from “promising” to “disappointing” shows that building successful tools boils down to a few essentials:

Know your product and decide WHAT you want it to be - Find out WHO your users are and tap them for feedback - Figure out WHEN it’s the best time to launch
When you get that right, you’ll be able to attract users who truly understand how your product can help them get things done.
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guest · Apr 24, 2020

Google ditched tipping feature for donating money to sites
April 23, 2020
https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/23/google-contributor-donate-tips/

Leaked images obtained by TechCrunch reveal that Google considered and designed a feature that would let people donate money to websites to help support news publishers, bloggers and musicians. But Google scrapped the idea and chose not to build out the product, despite these kinds of businesses and creators often struggling to earn revenue.

Last year, Google explored tipping as a new wing of Google Contributor, a service that lets people pay around 1 cent per page view to remove ads from partnered websites.
Google mocked up designs for tipping on the sites of The New York Times, Wired, “Tech Crunch” [sic] and more.
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Tips might not replace other revenue streams, but could extend sites’ runway. A voluntary option to accept tips without having to build all the payments infrastructure could be a lifeline for the news business, if Google would ordain it a priority.
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guest · Aug 4, 2020

Google Play Music will start shutting down in September
You have until December to back up or transfer your Play Music content
August 4, 2020
https://www.engadget.com/google-play-music-shutdown-end-of-2020-150006046.html

It’s been a long time coming, but Google is in the final stages of shutting down its longstanding Google Play Music app and service in favor of YouTube Music. The shutdown will start in September in Australia and New Zealand, while the app will stop working in October for the rest of the world. At that point, you won’t be able to stream from the Google Play Music app at all; we presume that streaming on the web will stop then as well.

While Google Play Music will stop functioning sometime in October, former users will have until December of this year to transfer all their music and data out of the service.
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Google has offered a transfer tool to go from Google Play Music to YouTube Music since May, and it’ll keep working after Play Music has stopped streaming.

In addition to shutting down the Play Music streaming service, Google is also removing music from the Play Store entirely. That means Google won’t have a place to buy music outright, like Apple does with the long-running iTunes Store and Amazon does with its own platform.
If you’re a person who still likes to own music rather than stream it, you won’t be able to buy it from Google.
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Unfortunately, Google hasn’t given us exact dates for any of these changes, but the writing is clearly on the wall. If you’ve been using Google Play Music, it’s time to back up your data now — either to transfer it to YouTube Music or just make sure it isn’t lost at the end of the year.
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guest · Sep 13, 2020

mood said: ↑

Google Play Music will start shutting down in September August 4, 2020
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The first signs of Google Play Music's impending shutdown have arrived
If Play Music was your default Assistant music source, it's switching to YouTube Music now
September 10, 2020
https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/...e-play-musics-impending-shutdown-has-arrived/

The phasing out of Play Music has been in progress for a while, and the whole service is set to be discontinued this month. It doesn't come as much of a surprise, then, that Google has begun to transition the default music player on Assistant devices from Play Music to YouTube Music. This also means that most users are now getting ads in between their own songs.

Several people on the r/googleplaymusic subreddit are reporting that their smart home devices are now telling them, "By the way, YouTube Music is now your default music provider," when asked to play music. Some non-Premium users are saying they're getting ads between their own songs, which is just the cherry on top for music lovers who were already complaining about YTM's inferior UI and functionality.
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UPDATE: 2020/09/10 12:01PM PDT BY RICHARD GAO
XDA's Mishaal Rahman also shared that he's seeing a "You will soon lose access to Google Play Music" screen every time he opens the app. The end is near.

I also get this everytime I open Play Music. pic.twitter.com/h5eIBLyJdb
— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) September 10, 2020
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guest · Oct 13, 2020

Google goes all in on YouTube Music as it kills Google Play music store
October 12, 2020
https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/...be-music-as-it-kills-google-play-music-store/

When Google started selling music back in 2011, it was a pretty big deal. A lot of changes have happened since then, many of them involving branding. Google Play Music is preparing to be shut down as YouTube Music takes over the reigns as Google's default music streaming platform.

It looks like another major step in the transition has taken place today: the music store on Google Play is officially gone.
As the company has said before, songs you've already purchased should show up in YouTube Music once you transfer your library, although the best way to ensure a complete backup of all your music is probably to use Google Takeout and download a full archive.
Source: Google Play
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guest · Oct 16, 2020

Google kills another app — say goodbye to Trusted Contacts
October 16, 2020
https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/10/16/google-kills-another-app-say-goodbye-to-trusted-contacts/

Google introduced the Trusted Contacts app back in 2016 as a way to share location info with people who are close to you. The app gained a few more features over the years, but now it looks like Google has decided to cut off access to Trusted Contacts. If the app is already installed on your device, you'll be able to keep using it — but not for long.

The app will continue to function for existing users until December 1, but come that day, it will "stop being supported." And starting today, the app is officially gone from both the App Store and the Google Play Store.
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The Trusted Contacts app getting killed just goes to show that Google can always be trusted to add to its graveyard.
If you want to check out Trusted Contacts and get a taste of what Google is taking away, you can still download the latest version from APK Mirror — although it'll likely stop working when December comes around.
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guest · Oct 22, 2020

mood said: ↑

Google goes all in on YouTube Music as it kills Google Play music store October 12, 2020
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Google Play Music app begins inevitable global shutdown of service
October 22, 2020
https://www.xda-developers.com/google-play-music-app-begins-inevitable-global-shutdown-of-service/

Google Play Music has finally begun its long, slow death, with many users reporting that the app has become inaccessible. Although Google did say that the service would be closed by the end of the year, it appears that an earlier shutdown is already in progress.
Earlier this month, we saw the closure of the Music section of the Google Play Store, effectively ending the sale of mp3s by the company in favor of an all-streaming model.

Now, we have to sit back and watch the service slowly shut down, node by node, as we head towards Christmas. If you’re using the app now, enjoy it, because each time could be the last.
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guest · Nov 3, 2020

Google's Screenwise Meter app and its rewards program are now dead
November 3, 2020
https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/...ter-app-and-its-rewards-program-are-now-dead/

Google has wrapped up its Audience Measurement program, one that operated in a similar way to how a ratings company like Nielsen tracks media consumption. Participants who were incentivized to use the Screenwise Meter app to record their web browsing habits are being told to offload the software and claim their rewards within the next month.

You may recall Screenwise Meter as the subject of a spat between Apple and Google in 2019 where the latter was caught improperly distributing the consumer-facing app on iOS using an enterprise certificate meant for internal dogfooding.
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Audience Measurement panelists were recently notified of the program's termination and told that their activity was no longer being metered nor were they receiving any more points.
The given redemption deadline was listed as December 2 in some places and December 3 in at least one other.
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Google: Audience Measurement has ended

guest · Nov 4, 2020

Google will end support to Google Keep Chrome app by Feb 2021
Google’s note-taking app is now being moved to Keep on the Web
November 4, 2020
https://www.thehindubusinessline.co...ep-chrome-app-by-feb-2021/article33020316.ece

Google will end support for its Google Keep Chrome app in February 2021.

First reported by 9to5Google, Keep users accessing the Chrome app are now getting a notification banner at the top of the app that reads, ‘Keep will be moving from the Chrome app to your browser soon’. They are then directed to a ‘Learn more’ support document to ‘Update to keep.google.com’.

“Access to Keep on your Chrome OS lock screen will no longer be available. You can install a short-cut that opens Keep on your Chrome browser,” reads the Google support page.
Users can use Google Keep from their computer through keep.google.com.
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With this update, users will be able to access their notes offline on Keep mobile apps, but not on their computer.

Moving Keep to web is a part of Google’s plans to slowly phase out its Chrome apps that it had announced back In January 2020. The announcement was made due to “significant progress of the modern Web”.
The tech giant is planning to end support for Chrome apps by June 2022.
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9to5Google: Google Keep Chrome app will stop working next year, including Chrome OS lockscreen integration

guest · Dec 1, 2020

Google is retiring the Cloud Print service this month: what to do next
There are only 30 days left before the feature is deprecated
December 1, 2020
https://www.zdnet.com/article/google-is-killing-the-cloud-print-service-this-month-what-to-do-next/

Google Cloud Print is going to be deprecated in 30 days and users are urged to migrate before the deadline.

First introduced back in 2010, Google Cloud Print allows users to connect to classic printers via the Google Chrome browser on their PC or mobile device, or to a cloud-based printer directly through the Internet.
However, despite being a decade old, the service never left the beta stage.

As of January 1, 2021, no device on any operating system will be able to access Google Cloud Print.
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This may cause some disruption to organizations and individuals that use the printing system frequently, and so Google recommends that users "find an alternative print solution with your respective platform's printing infrastructure."

Chrome OS has a native printing solution for local, CUPS, and Wi-Fi-based printers. Alternatively, Microsoft launched the enterprise-ready Universal Print service in March, in private preview. HP, too, has created a cloud-based printing solution that supports Microsoft's new offering.
Once your organization is ready to migrate, you should turn off Cloud Print.
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guest · Dec 2, 2020

Google adds Google Poly to its graveyard
December 2, 2020
https://mspoweruser.com/google-adds-google-poly-to-its-graveyard/

Google has announced the end of life of another of their services, Google Poly.

Poly is a website created by Google for users to browse, distribute, and download 3D objects. It is intended to allow creators to easily share and access 3D objects. It features a free library containing thousands of 3D objects for use in virtual reality and augmented reality applications.
The website launched in 2017, and today the company announced that the service will be shutting down on the 30th June 2021.
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3D models uploaded to the service will be available at poly.google.com until June 30, 2021. Developers and designers can download their entire library at takeout.google.com or can download individual assets by viewing each asset’s page.
After June 30, poly.google.com and associated APIs will no longer be accessible. You will not be able to upload new 3D models on poly.google.com after April 30, 2021.
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Google: Poly will be shut down on June 30, 2021.

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A eulogy for every product Google has ruthlessly killed (145 and counting)

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