Parents' Guide to

Google Hangouts

By Polly Conway, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Chat, listen, and learn on Google's communication platform.

Website https://hangouts.google.com/
Google Hangouts Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this website.

Community Reviews

See all
age 13+

Based on 15 parent reviews

Ycoedwr
Ycoedwr Adult
November 22, 2020
age 10+

OK if it's in control

Animeluv
Animeluv Adult
October 20, 2020
age 12+

A - OK if its managed by school

For me the school manages it so i can only talk with my cohorts. However if the hangouts is not managed by the school its a problem DO NOT GET IF NOT MANAGED BY SCHOOL!!!!
See all 15 parent reviews

Privacy Rating Warning

  • Personal information is not sold or rented to third parties.
  • Personal information is shared for third-party marketing.
  • Personalised advertising is displayed.
  • Data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • User's information is used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Data profiles are created and used for personalised advertisements.
Learn more about our privacy ratings

What’s It About?

Google Hangouts are simply that: hangouts that occur online -- through text or video -- with friends, family, teachers, or anyone else in your network. Users can communicate with a single person, a group, or create a \"Hangout on Air\" to broadcast their video to the world. When you're signed in to Google (through Gmail, or one of their other sites), click on \"Try Hangouts;\" you'll be prompted to install a quick plugin onto your computer. Once that's done, it's easy to start a Hangout with someone: Simply hover over their name with the mouse; a small window pops up with clickable icons for a video, chat, or email. Hangouts can also be recorded and archived if you ever want to revisit a conversation or lesson.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (15 ):
Kids say (37 ):

Google Hangouts are great! For kids who already use Gmail or Google+, getting acquainted with Google Hangouts should be pretty straightforward. Google knows how to make things user-friendly, and Hangouts is no exception; getting started is very intuitive. The ability to chat with up to 10 people at once is pretty exciting, and there's tons of potential, not only for families, but for school-related projects and group work as well.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Use Google Hangouts to create a family reunion of sorts; see if you can gather up to 10 family members for a five or ten-minute video chat. If it works, make it a monthly or weekly event.

  • Encourage your kids to use Google Hangouts for fun, but also as another way to stay connected with school. They can check in with classmates to talk about school-related stuff, quiz each other, find out about missing assignments, or anything else related to school. The possibilities are endless.

Website Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate