Google Chat Electron

There's a multitude of ways to keep in touch with your friends over the internet, and Google happens to provide a chatting functionality that integrates with its other services. The fact that such a solution is web-based, however, might put off some users, especially as the standalone app had been shut down about a year ago.

Nevertheless, users who want to utilize a Google Chat client are not out of options just yet. Google Chat Electron works to provide an app for the service, affording users a software solution as an alternative to the web-based app.

This is an Electron-based app, and it's needless to say it comes with both the benefits and drawbacks of the framework. It is cross-platform and is easy to set up and get started with, but Electron apps aren't known to be the lightest, resource-wise. It would be safe to assume that the Google Chat session is being run through an emulated browser.

In order to access Google Chat, users will naturally have to authenticate with their Google account. The process is handled by Google's API, so there's no risk of getting your account credentials stolen.

The program pretty much mirrors the web-app in terms of functionality. The interface is the same, and chatting with your contacts works just like on the web-based solution. Users can even organize meetings through the interface, but it's worth noting that videoconferencing will only work on your browser.

What's more, additional Google solutions are also available in the sidebar: Keep, Tasks, and Calendar are all readily accessible from within the interface. Schedule meetings, keep up with your tasks, and jot down what's most important are all functions that are facilitated by such a feature.

Google Chat Electron works well, and if you happen to miss the former standalone app, giving this one a shot wouldn't be a bad idea.