It used to be that Google Hangouts forced you to interact with your Web browser in order to take part in conversations — but now that’s not the case.
Not anymore, says Google. The company announced in this official blog post that Google Hangouts has been updated to appear on your desktop without being tied to your browser, just like what you see in the images above and below.
The new version of Hangouts features a minimalist design that lives on the right side of your screen. Want to start a new conversation? Click the green Hangouts icon. From there, you’ll see two tabs.
The tab on the left presents you with your friends list. Click on someone to open a new conversation. The right tab organizes your conversations by prioritizing those that have the most recent updates. Each conversation is symbolized by a circular icon that matches each user’s main Google Hangouts image.
You can also call people via voice and video as well, just like in the previous version of Hangouts.
“If you use Google Voice, the app includes complete Google Voice support, so you can make and receive calls, and get your voicemails and SMS messages directly in Hangouts,” Google Software Engineer David Levin says.
The updated Hangouts app is specific to Chrome for Windows, and Chrome OS. It’s available now.
If you already have the Hangouts extension installed, Google says that you’ll see a “promo” that asks you to give the new features a shot sometime over the next few weeks.
Did you think hitting delete on your AI chatbot conversation actually makes it disappear? Georgia Tech researchers just proved that's not entirely true. They have built a forensic tool called ORISA that can dig deleted conversations from your phone and even rebuild them into a working chatbot session you can keep talking to.
How can ORISA bring deleted AI conversations back?
Touchscreen laptops have been around for years. You can get them in all sizes and shapes. Just not from Apple. For years, the Cupertino giant has treated the idea of a touchscreen MacBook the way I treat a meeting that could have been an email: with open contempt. However, Wednesday looks like the day the company could finally change its mind.
The latest Apple invite puts the “Pro and Tell” showcase in Los Angeles at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) on October 28, 2026. Instead of a regular live-streamed keynote, it is an invitation-only, hands-on event for a handful of press and creators (similar to what the company did for the MacBook Neo earlier this year).
Two residents of Chicago have filed a lawsuit in the US over claims that robots run by Coco Robotics and Serve Robotics captured their facial and hand measurements without consent, bringing renewed attention to the food delivery robots. The cases raise a troubling question: If a robot delivers food to your door, can it also be gathering sensitive information about you?
According to a report by The Associated Press, the proposed class-action lawsuits were filed in Cook County on Oct. 9 and allege violations of Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act. The complaints claim that the robots’ cameras and LiDAR sensors captured information on customers’ faces and hands as they approached the machines to pick up their orders. Both have denied the allegations.