Another Google invention bites the dust as we said goodbye to Allo to close out the year. Development for the Google’s instant messaging app was officially “paused” earlier in 2018, though the company says users will still have limited support.
While the reasons for Allo’s demise are as messy as they are unsurprising, the public backlash against chatbots and privacy abuse was another nail in Allo’s coffin per its definitive feature, Google Assistant.
Allo is like most messaging apps with the ability to send/receive all your favorite pictures, links, emojis, and animated cat stickers, and meant to compete with the experience of using Apple’s iMessage. The added bonus was Allo’s Google Assistant, a chatbot powered by the omnipotent Google Search engine suggesting replies and constantly “learning” as its users fed it information.
Allo could learn your favorite sports teams, nearby restaurants, or parts of your texting patterns. As if that weren’t creepy enough, users must specifically put the app into “incognito mode” in order to keep their conversations safe from potential data mining. With 2018 declaring open season on digital privacy, it’s unlikely the coming year will be any better.
The real benefits of a virtual assistant are hiding beneath a thick layer of potential data theft, legal controversies, and an unsightly image as Silicon Valley’s A.I. minions. But ultimately, Allo’s demise is connected to Google’s push to catch the trending wave of RCS communication.
Rich Communication Services (RCS) is meant to set a universal standard of communication across platforms. Currently, Allo is (was) just one messaging app among many others such as Facebook Messaging, WhatsApp, and Telegram.
Most of us are forced to jump between apps to communicate with all our contacts as service carriers/device manufactures keep us jumping through hoops.
Allo is not RCS compatible, (a.k.a. only an Allo user can message other Allo users) and its low number of users doesn’t speak well to the future. Meanwhile, RCS is a trend that’s growing in the United States and Google intends to be in the forefront getting everyone to hold hands and sing kumbaya. Can you imagine? Compatibility for all? It sounds too good to be true — are the eavesdropping chatbots coming along?
Google has always has always bid on multiple horses when coming to the various tech races.
Allo’s birth and death is no less unusual than the company deciding to switch from exclusivity to inclusivity. The path towards global connectivity will undoubtedly be littered with the bodies of other fallen platforms. Here lies Allo, right next to MySpace.
Staff Writer, Allison Yano is an artist and writer based in LA. She holds a BFA in Applied Visual Arts and Minor in Writing from Oregon State University, and an MFA in Fine Art from Pratt Institute. Her waking hours are filled with an insatiable love of storytelling, science, and soy lattes.
