Hangouts for iOS now lets members of group Hangouts boot other members

Update: The Android version of the app has now been updated with the same feature (and more!).

Hangouts just received an update to version 11.0.0 on iOS with some handy new features. The most interesting addition is the ability for anyone in a Hangout to remove any other person from said group Hangout, something that is currently not possible on the Hangouts web client or in the Android app…

One main gripe that many have with Hangouts is that it doesn’t offer the ability for different levels of permission for group chats. Anyone in a group chat has long been able to add whoever they like, as well as change the name of the Hangout and turn on and off Hangout history. Now, it looks like Google wants to give everyone even more control.

I’ve personally experienced the headache of trying to “lead” a larger Hangout group without the ability to moderate who can do what. Even the fact that any member can rename the Hangout and add friends without consent is annoying, and I can’t imagine the frustration that would come from a member erroneously removing other members. We’ll see.

Besides this option, the update brings a fix for “static gifs and square cropping of images” as well as an increased video attachment max length — up to two minutes. Here’s the full change log:

What’s New in Version 11.0.0

● Ability to kick users out of group conversations

● Fix for static gifs and square cropping of images

● Increased video attachment max length to two minutes

You can grab the update from the App Store right now for free, and I’m sure updates are coming soon to the Android app and the web app with similar changes.