Outlook.com users take note. Microsoft has confirmed today that it is going to remove both Google and Facebook chat from its email service “within the next couple of weeks.” The company made this announcement through an email that was sent out to Outlook.com users. It is understandable why Microsoft is removing Google chat, and it even provides a reason, but its mum on why Facebook chat is getting the same treatment.
Google recently made the decision to discontinue the chat protocol used by the Google Talk platform and this is precisely the reason Microsoft gives for its decision to remove Google Talk integration from Outlook.com.
Facebook hasn’t done this for its chat platform but it also gets the same treatment, Microsoft doesn’t provide a reason for it, only that over the next couple of weeks this chat platform will no longer be available to Outlook.com users.
The company does point out that despite the fact that its removing chat services, Facebook and Gmail services for Outlook.com that integrate with the people feature, those services will remain unaffected.
So what do the users who relied upon these chat services do? Unsurprisingly Microsoft is pointing them towards Skype, its own service, that’s integrated in Outlook.com. The company believes Skype “provides the best experience for chatting and making voice or video calls.”
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