What is Google Currents? Currents is an Enterprise Social Network (ESN) developed by Google for Internal Communications between employees and teams. Formerly known as Google+, the network rebranded to Currents in 2019 due to low user engagement. Currents is part of Google Workspace’s set of collaboration tools that supports workplace communication by giving employees a place to post topics, ideas, news, and comment on them.
Currents is suitable for medium-to-large sized companies that don't need collaboration features, and just need a simple platform to talk without a knowledge base. It is not an intranet platform, and unlike Happeo, it doesn't provide an internal page builder and features to facilitate collaboration. Read on to compare Currents to Happeo – our alternative. Want to see and compare other Currents alternatives? Visit our intranet platforms comparison.
Feature overview
| Digital workplace | Happeo | Currents |
|---|---|---|
| Search | ✓ | ✗ |
| Third-party app launcher | ✓ | ✗ |
| Integrated Drive Editing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Integrated Docs editing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Integrated Sheets editing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Integrated Slides editing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Collaboration platform | Happeo | Currents |
|---|---|---|
| Employee directory | ✓ | ✗ |
| Slack integration | ✓ | ✗ |
| User-creatable channels | ✓ | ✗ |
| Integrated Hangouts conferencing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Integrated Calendar editing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Jabber, Webex integration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Social intranet | Happeo | Currents |
|---|---|---|
| Page builder | ✓ | ✗ |
| Social channels | ✓ | ✗ |
| Analytics | ✓ |
Limited |
| Personalized news feed | ✓ | ✗ |
| Announcements | ✓ | ✗ |
| Widgets | ✓ | ✗ |
| Branded file templates | ✓ | ✗ |
| Influencer analysis | ✓ | ✗ |
| Overall features | Happeo | Currents |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile intranet app | ✓ | ✓ |
| Push notifications | ✓ | ✓ |
| Single Sign On | ✓ | ✓ |
| ISO compliant security | ✓ | ✓ |
| GDPR compliant | ✓ | ✓ |
| Top-down communications | ✓ | ✗ |
| Bottom-up communications | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom branding | ✓ | ✗ |
| Multilingual | ✓ | ✗ |
| Deep Google Workspace integration | ✓ | ✗ |
| User-first design | ✓ | ✗ |
| Fast time to deploy | ✓ | ✗ |
| Google Workspace integration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Office 365 integration | ✓ | ✗ |
See how Happeo stacks up against other alternatives
Happeo vs Jostle
Jostle is a Canadian company that provides an intranet solution to companies that need software to align their internal communications.
Happeo vs Jive
Jive is a software company that provides solutions for internal communications in businesses. Jive is one of the old-school leaders in the industry.
Happeo vs Simplrr
Simpplr is a US-based software company founded in 2014. Simplrr helps with connecting and engaging employees accross departments.
Get the Intranet Comparison Guide
Directly compare our alternative here by downloading the free Intranet Comparison Guide.
Currents is missing collaboration features
Currents allows for bottom-up and peer-to-peer communication, however, the lack of collaboration features means conversation can't turn into work – in other words, there is a missing link to business benefits. Compared to Currents, Happeo’s deep integration with Google Workspace’s tools makes collaboration smooth. Had a great conversation about an upcoming press release? Paste the document in that post thread and start working on it! The possibilities are endless, and productive.
Currents doesn't integrate with other apps
Currents doesn't have an API, and it's not on their roadmap either. It can be a powerful platform for internal use, however, the lack of integration with other applications (Google Sites, Slack, etc.) doesn't create a seamless workflow like Happeo does, which makes Happeo the preferred Currents alternative.
Currents lacks the features to promote company image
Features like a customizable look and feel, a Page builder and branded file templates promote the company image internally. Currents doesn't provide any of those to brand your intranet. Customization options don’t go further than creating your own streams with information that’s relevant to you. The alternative: Happeo is completely customizable in look and feel, from your platform’s URL up to your company colors or email digests.
Currents creates information silos
Since Currents doesn’t integrate with the rest of the Google Workspace apps, information stored there won’t be discoverable with your Enterprise Search. Simply put: the more you work in Currents, the more you silo information into it. Happeo, as an alternative, is fully integrated with Google Workspace, which means that information on your intranet platform and Workspace is searchable and accessible in one place.
Currents is an Enterprise Social Network (ESN), not a social intranet
ESNs like Currents allow for sharing news and interaction through likes, comments, follows – anything to engage your workforce in an open conversation. What makes a social intranet, on the other hand, is the combination of Pages and Channels as features. Both have their benefits, but the case shouldn’t be about choosing one or the other. We know that, and that’s why our alternative combines them all in one solution – social intranet, ESN, and collaboration tools.
The future of Currents is uncertain
After a shaky launch and tenure, Google decided to replace Google + with Currents. Launching out of Beta in July 2020, the app has not been out for long and is essentially a rebranded version of Google +, with a few extra feature. Google Workspace focuses mostly on productivity applications – Docs, Sheets, Drive, Slides, etc. Google is known to develop "fringe" applications around, such as Sites and Currents, but can just as quickly abandon the project to go back to their main focus.