Google Chat: Messages lack distinct chat bubbles
Users are forced to migrate from Google Hangouts to a downgraded replacement, Google Chat, which they find to be an awful and garbage experience. Additionally, the new application suffers from performance issues, such as images opening as slowly as a web page.
8 different people have complained about this since 22 Jun 2021, most recently on 09 Aug 2022.
No new posts for 1.6k days. This may have been fixed, or people stopped writing about it — the evidence below is from before 09 Aug 2022.
- “I had to switch from Google Hangouts to Google Chat.”
- “And the fact that you're forced to switch from Hangouts makes this downgrade a waste of space on your phone.”
- “Google Chat — Garbage, bring back hangouts.”
8 people in 8 posts across 2 sources · 0 in the last 30 days, 0 in the 30 before
The pain
shares of 8 peopleWhat goes wrong, and for whom
- Who
- 8 people using Google Chat
- What goes wrong
- Messages lack distinct chat bubbles3 people · 38%
- App crashes when sending multiple photos2 people · 25%
- Since
- 22 Jun 2021 → 09 Aug 2022
Is this a startup idea?
Not directly. These are complaints about a product or service people already use — the fix belongs first to that provider.
- Complaints are about
- Google Chat
- Looking for something else
- 25% want an alternative · 0% ask the provider for a feature
- What the numbers say
- 25% are looking for an alternative — if there is an opening, it is with them.
The pain — what people say
Their asks, who is writing, and the posts themselves
What people were doing
Every post behind this page, by what its author was doing — and when each one was written
- Complaint675%
- Looking for an alternative225%
Sources
8 signals · 2 sources
Evidence
Raw public posts behind this opportunity — click through to the original
Google Chat I had to switch from Google Hangouts to Google Chat. I wish I hadn't. It seems like Google just doesn't know how to make good software anymore. This app has fewer features than what it replaced. It's like Google Chat is a D student just doing the bare minimum to pass high school, not really caring about…
Wishes it existedFrustratedSwitching away…r, I rarely get notifications, and it's 20 times more tedious to use. And the fact that you're forced to switch from Hangouts makes this downgrade a waste of space on your phone. Use something else if you want a good messaging app.
Switching awayMissing featureGoogle Chat — Garbage, bring back hangouts First of all, google removed video calling in google hangouts group chats then replaced it with a google meet link, so now u need an extra app as NOW hangouts is going to go away and this app is even worse because u need google meet for individual contacts as well. Honestly…
…ferent from other free messaging apps is that it's created by Google. However, when compared to what it's trying to replace, Google Hangouts, it's awful. The format is way worse, the notifications don't give you image previews anymore, and it's overall harder to navigate and use. Will probably switch to a different…
…rns what used to be an instantaneous thing into a multi-step process. Super disappointed in this change, Google. Do better.
Market and score
Products already there, how the score moved, and what it is made of
Opportunity history
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Why did it move?
Score 24.7 → 24.8 · 11 Nov 2026, 11:00 → 12:15 UTC
How the score was measured38 measured values behind the seven sub-scores · each shows the value, then the points it earned out of 100Show ↓Hide ↑
Questions about this idea
- Is Messages lack distinct chat bubbles a startup idea?
- Not directly. These are complaints about a product or service people already use, and the fix belongs first to that provider. The page shows what is frustrating users and how badly — not an open market to start a company in.
- How many people have this problem?
- 8 different people described it independently, in 8 mentions, the earliest from 22 Jun 2021 and the most recent from 09 Aug 2022. The quotes, with dates and links to the originals, are in the Evidence section.
- Is this problem getting worse?
- Status: quiet — no new posts in the last 60 days. 0 people raised it in the last 30 days and 0 in the 30 days before; the status compares its share of everything collected from the same source, so collecting more or less cannot create a trend.
Adjacent opportunities
Nearest neighbours by embedding similarity
Have you run into this?
Written by readers, except comments marked Team, which are ours. Not part of the evidence above and not counted in any score.
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Google Chat makes reading conversations difficult because it lacks distinct chat bubbles and forces everything into a cramped left-aligned layout. We saw 8 people describing how this change and the slow image loading make the app feel like a step backward from Hangouts. When you contacted support about the missing bubbles, what was their specific reason for removing such a basic visual feature?