Google says it's cracking down on third-party Google Voice apps, expanding SMS support in Hangouts early next year
Google didn't have much to say about Google Voice integration in its Hangouts app when it announced the latest version earlier this week, but the company's Nikhyl Singhal has filled in a few more details on his Google+ page today. Singhal notes that while the update (and its SMS support) only works with Google Voice numbers if you have the service enabled on your Sprint phone, it's "working to support SMS messages for all Google Voice phone numbers by early next year." He further goes on to say that the company is also working to offer Google Voice phone numbers outside the US and support MMS, but he's not going so far as to offer a timeline there, saying "we need to work with carriers and this can take some time."
Beyond that, Singhal also confirmed that Google will now be more heavily enforcing its Terms of Service and cracking down on third-party apps that offer unauthorized calling and SMS services through Google Voice. Those app makers will apparently have until May 15, 2014 to transition their users to another service. As for the new Hangouts app itself, while it's available on the new Nexus 5, other Android users will still have to wait a bit longer for the update to show up in the Play Store.
