RIP: Google Allo messaging app is dead at the age of 3

Google Allo has finally said goodbye after almost three years of a rollercoaster ride. We knew it was coming since December 2018 when Google confirmed its plan to pull the plug on Allo by March 2019. So practically, this is your last chance to save your chats. Here is everything you need to know.

How to save Google Allo messages and conversations

Google Allo backup can be saved locally as well as to your Google Drive storage. Open Allo app on your phone and tap the hamburger menu. Go to Settings > Chat > Chat backup and turn on Device backup. To save your chats on the cloud, choose Google Drive and tap the option "Back up now." To restore your Allo chats onto another phone, install Allo on your new device and finish the initial verification process. Now, sign in to your Google account > Tap "Restore.

To download your chats and media, open Allo > Tap the hamburger menu > Settings > Chat. You can select from either "Export messages from chats" or "Export stored media from chats." You can save messages in either a CSV file or Zip file. 

Here's what Allo has to say on its website:

"We’re saying goodbye to Allo in March 2019. During our time together, we brought you a smarter way to chat, with features like the Google Assistant, Allo for web and selfie stickers."

Looking back at Google's Allo story

Google Allo has gone through several ups and downs throughout its journey. We look back the Allo story and see what contributed to its success as well as failures.

May 2016: Allo was announced at Google I/O developer's conference with encryption and ephemeral messages.

September 2016: Allo app was launched four months after without encryption. NSA-contractor-turned-whistleblower Edward warned users not to use Allo.

November 2016: Allo received Smart Smiley feature to auto-suggest emojis and stickers based on conversations.

February 2017: Then Google's VP of Communications Products Nick Fox tweeted a screenshot of Allo running as a web app.

March 2017: Allo added GIF library in the compose bar. Allo received file sharing support for PDFs, documents, APKs, ZIP archives and MP3.  A bug leaked a sender's search history to recipients.

Google Assistant is coming to Android Messages, here’s how it differs from Allo

May 2017: Allo allowed users to backup and restore chats, added an Incognito mode for group chats and previews for links.

June 2017: Allo enabled cross-platform integration with Google Duo video and audio calls.

July 2017: Allo received message reactions option below each message.

August 2017: Allo for web went live for Android users using Google Chrome.

September 2017: Allo received in-chat translation feature.

October 2017: Allo went live for iOS users, in addition to Allo web supporting Firefox and Opera.

November 2017: New group chat controls were added to Allo.

April 2018: Google paused development of Allo.

December 2018. Google confirmed to end support for Allo by March 2019

March 2019: Google pulled the plug on Allo with an aim to focus on RCS services.

What's next?

Google has shifted its focus towards Rich Communications Services (RCS), but more importantly, Google is trying hard to make Android Messages app better. Recently, Google integrated the Assistant into Messages. But instead of adding Google Assistant as a chatbot, Messages app will only treat Google Assistant as an additional layer of smarts.

RIP, Google Allo.