Google+ update ditches Messenger for Hangouts, brings multiple improvements to app

Google+ for Android has received a new update that brings along a ton of new features. Most importantly, Google is kissing goodbye to the Google+ messenger in favour of hangouts within the application.

Using the Google+ application, you will now be able to switch between multiple Google+ accounts a lot faster. Google says that this is one feature that was frequently requested by users. Instead of having to sign out and sign in every single time you wished to access Google+ from another account, you can now simply change your account with a couple of types. Pages that you manage on Google+ will also be easily accessible from the app menu.

Google+ will now fully support Google Apps for Business. If your Apps administrator has enabled Google+, you will be able to share content publicly with some circles or only with people inside your organisation. You will also be able to easily figure out if someone’s profile is part of your Apps domain or not.

New update!

A new feature that is sure to make a lot of Google+ for Android users happy is one that will let you access pictures and videos from your Google Drive from within the application. You can now share and view images from Google Drive using Google+ on Android and on the web. According to a post by Google+ Tech Lead Virgil Dobjanschi, these images will get enhanced and “awesome’d” automatically.

Sharing locations has now become a lot more detailed with the Google+ for Android update. You can now share your location on a circle-by-circle basis. For example, if you’re out partying in another city, you can share the exact location with just your friends, and information about which city you are in with your colleagues. You can use the same filter to choose who appears on your Locations map.

Most importantly, Google+ for Android is letting go of Messenger and changing loyalties to Hangouts. “Now that Hangouts provides messaging and video calls across Android, iOS and the web, we’re removing Messenger from the Google+ mobile apps,” writes Dobjanschi in the post. This replacement will first be rolling out to the app on Android followed by Google+ on iOS.

In case you wish to keep your Messenger conversations for posterity’s sake, you can head on to Google Takeout later today or early tomorrow to download all of these including text and photos.

Dobjanschi writes that there are a few more tweaks like pull-to-refresh added to this update but that the team would rather you find them out for yourself. If you can’t see the update to Google+ for Android just yet, you’ll have to hold on since it will be rolling out to Google Play over the next few days and you should be able to get your hands on it soon.