Google Allo was an
instant messaging
Instant messaging (IM) technology is a type of online chat allowing real-time text transmission over the Internet or another computer network. Messages are typically transmitted between two or more parties, when each user inputs text and trigge ...
mobile app
A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...
by
Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
for the
Android
Android may refer to:
Science and technology
* Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human
* Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system
** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...
and
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
mobile operating system
A mobile operating system is an operating system for mobile phones, tablets, smartwatches, smartglasses, or other non-laptop personal mobile computing devices. While computers such as typical laptops are "mobile", the operating systems used on ...
s, with a web client available on
Google Chrome
Google Chrome is a cross-platform web browser developed by Google. It was first released in 2008 for Microsoft Windows, built with free software components from Apple WebKit and Mozilla Firefox. Versions were later released for Linux, macOS ...
,
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox, or simply Firefox, is a free and open-source web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation. It uses the Gecko rendering engine to display web pages, which implements current and a ...
, and
Opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
. It closed on March 12, 2019.
The app used phone numbers as identifiers, allowing users to exchange messages, files, voice notes, and images. It included a
virtual assistant
An intelligent virtual assistant (IVA) or intelligent personal assistant (IPA) is a software agent that can perform tasks or services for an individual based on commands or questions. The term "chatbot" is sometimes used to refer to virtual ...
that generated automatic reply suggestions and an optional encrypted mode known as incognito mode. Users could also resize messages and add doodles and stickers on images before sending them.
Before launch, Google touted strong privacy in the app, with particular emphasis on messages stored "transiently and in non-identifiable form". However, at launch, privacy was significantly rolled back, with Google keeping logs of messages indefinitely (or until the user deletes messages) in an effort to improve the app's "smart reply" feature.
History
Allo was announced at Google's
developer conference
A hackathon (also known as a hack day, hackfest, datathon or codefest; a portmanteau of hacking and marathon) is an event where people engage in rapid and collaborative engineering over a relatively short period of time such as 24 or 48 hours. T ...
on May 18, 2016. At the time, Google said that it would release Allo in summer 2016,
and they launched it on September 21, 2016.
During the unveiling of Google's
Pixel
In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device.
In most digital display devices, pixels are the smal ...
smartphone in October 2016, it announced that Allo would be pre-installed on the Pixel phones, along with its sister app,
Google Duo. In February 2017, a
tweet by Google's Vice President of Communications Nick Fox showed a screenshot of Allo running as a
web app, along with the words: "Still in early development, but coming to a desktop near you..." A further tweet from Fox in May stated that the web client was "a month or two from public release."
In August, Google Allo for web went live for Android users using Google Chrome,
while Firefox, Opera and iOS support was rolled out in October.
In April 2018, it was reported that Google would be "pausing" development of Allo. Anil Sabharwal, the new head of the communications group at Google, stated that its employees would work primarily on its implementation of the carrier-based
Rich Communication Services (RCS) Universal Profile, under the branding "Chat". This was implemented within the Android Messages app used for SMS.
In December 2018, Google announced they would end support for Allo in March 2019. A final update to the app allowed users to export chat messages from Allo. The Allo service shut down completely on March 14, 2019, with its homepage recommending users to try Google's
Messages
A message is a discrete unit of communication intended by the source for consumption by some recipient or group of recipients. A message may be delivered by various means, including courier, telegraphy, carrier pigeon and electronic bus.
A ...
app as an alternative.
Features
Allo was based on phone numbers, not by social media or email accounts. Allo's "Smart reply" feature used Google's
machine learning
Machine learning (ML) is a field of inquiry devoted to understanding and building methods that 'learn', that is, methods that leverage data to improve performance on some set of tasks. It is seen as a part of artificial intelligence.
Machine ...
technology to suggest a reply to the last message, which could be selected from a few options. The feature also analyzed images sent to the user in order to suggest responses. Similar to the smart reply feature seen in Google's
Inbox app, it learnt from the user's behavior to adapt its suggestions over time.
Allo was one of the apps that supported
Google Assistant, a virtual assistant that allows users to ask questions and receive answers in a two-way conversational nature.
Additional features include "Whisper Shout", which allows the user to increase or decrease the size of a message to represent volume, and the ability to draw on photos before sending them.
In November 2016, Google introduced Smart Smiley, a feature that suggested emojis and stickers depending on the mood of the message. Smart Smiley also showed suggestions when starting a new conversation. In addition, background themes for chats were added at the same time.
In March 2017, a GIF library was added in the compose bar, as well as easier one-tap access to the Google Assistant, and animated emoji.
Also in March was an update that let Android users send various types of files, including
PDF
Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...
s, documents,
APKs,
ZIP
Zip, Zips or ZIP may refer to:
Common uses
* ZIP Code, USPS postal code
* Zipper or zip, clothing fastener
Science and technology Computing
* ZIP (file format), a compressed archive file format
** zip, a command-line program from Info-ZIP
* Zi ...
archives, and
MP3 tracks through Allo. In May, the app was updated to allow users to backup and restore chats, it added an Incognito mode for group chats, and introduced previews for links. Later the same month, ''
Fast Company'' reported that Google updated Allo to add cartoon stickers on selfie photos, powered by
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
technology capable of producing "563 quadrillion face" animations. Complementing selfie stickers, Google also launched "selfie clips", short looped videos of the user's face. In June, the ability to make Google Duo video or audio calls directly from Allo chats was included.
The following month saw message reactions being added, where users could tap on a heart below messages received.
An in-chat translation feature appeared to some users in version 17 and rolled out to all in version 18, the latter of which was released in September. Group chat controls, which could be switched on for new group chats, were added in November 2017. In version 25, automatic transcriptions for audio messages appeared, though this could be disabled in settings.
Incognito mode
Incognito mode was an optional mode that included expiring chats, private notifications, and
end-to-end encryption. For encryption, the app used the
Signal Protocol
The Signal Protocol (formerly known as the TextSecure Protocol) is a non- federated cryptographic protocol that can be used to provide end-to-end encryption for voice calls and instant messaging conversations. The protocol was developed by Open W ...
.
Incognito mode did not include any Smart Reply or Google Assistant features. When the user received a sticker from a sticker pack that they did not already have installed on their device, the app retrieved the sticker from Google's servers using security, but not end-to-end encryption.
Reception
Virtual assistant
''
PC World''s Mark Hachman gave a favorable review of Allo's virtual assistant, saying that it was a "step up on
Cortana and
Siri".
Optional encryption
Following Allo's introduction at Google I/O, Google was criticized by security experts and privacy advocates for having the end-to-end encryption turned off by default, which they argue leaves the app open to
government surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as c ...
.
Edward Snowden
Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American and naturalized Russian former computer intelligence consultant who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013, when he was an employee and su ...
, whistleblower and former
NSA
The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collectio ...
contractor, criticized the app on Twitter, saying that "Google's decision to disable end-to-end encryption by default in its new #Allo chat app is dangerous, and makes it unsafe."
Thai Duong, a co-lead of Google's product security team, wrote in a personal blog post that he would push for the addition of a setting that would let users have the encryption on all the time. However, he later retracted the statement.
Message retention
When Allo was first introduced, its developers talked about storing non-incognito messages only "transiently and in non-identifiable form".
At launch, Google revealed that they would instead store all non-incognito messages indefinitely (or until the user deleted them) in order to improve the built-in "smart reply" feature.
Russell Brandom of ''
The Verge
''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts.
The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...
'' commented that "the decision will have significant consequences for law enforcement access to Allo messages. By default, Allo messages will now be accessible to lawful warrant requests, the same as message data in
Gmail and
Hangouts
Google Hangouts is a discontinued cross-platform instant messaging service developed by Google. It originally was a feature of Google+, becoming a standalone product in 2013, when Google also began integrating features from Google+ Messenger an ...
".
Other privacy issues
Reports surfaced in March 2017 that a bug with the Google Assistant in the Allo app would accidentally share results in a conversation from an individual's search history, despite the search not being previously mentioned by the other chat participant or previously in the conversation. Google acknowledged the issue, and stated that it had been fixed.
See also
*
Comparison of cross-platform instant messaging clients
The landscape for instant messaging involves cross-platform instant messaging clients that can handle one or multiple protocols. Clients that use the same protocol can typically federate and talk to one another. The following table compares gener ...
*
Messages (Google)
Messages (formerly known as Android Messages) is an SMS, RCS, and instant messaging application developed by Google for its Android and WearOS mobile operating systems, while it's also available via the Web. Messages is Google's official univer ...
*
Google Duo
*
Google Hangouts
*
Google Chat
*
Google Spaces
Google Spaces is a discontinued mobile app for group discussions and messaging developed by Google. The app was intended to compete with Slack as a content sharing platform where users can create a "space", invite their friends for discussion, ...
References
{{Instant messaging
Allo
Google instant messaging software
Android (operating system) software
IOS software
Cross-platform software
2016 software
Defunct instant messaging clients