As of this writing, I have received a legitimate and valid email from Google that Google Hangouts will be upgraded to Google Chat. Since the instructions from Google is long, here’s my take on how I back up my Google Hangouts conversations.
- Go to https://takeout.google.com/
- Deselect all items that are selected in default.
- Scroll down and check the Google Hangouts item.
- Click the Next Step button.
- Choose if .zip or .tgz format.
- A large file is split in default if exceeding 2GB.
- Waiting time depends on how large the date will be i.e. too many conversations, large exported file size.
- Download exported file.
