Google Jamboard Has Shut Down

Written by Greg Ives

Creator of Jotboard

In September 2023, Google announced its decision to wind down Google Jamboard. In this article, we discuss why Google decided to discontinue Google Jamboard, when it shut down and what alternatives are available.

What is Google Jamboard?

Google Jamboard is a digital whiteboard that lets you collaborate in real-time using sticky notes, text, images and pens. It can be used on the physical Jamboard device (a 55-inch display), on the Jamboard website and on the Jamboard mobile apps.

Why Did Jamboard Shut Down?

Jamboard was shut down so that Google could focus on core content collaboration across Docs, Sheets, and Slides, according to their article in Jamboard Help Center. But what is the real reason? I think that Google simply don’t make enough money from Jamboard.

Google makes money by selling Google Workspace to businesses (along with lots of other revenue streams like ads and search). Google Workspace includes the following 12 applications: Gmail, Drive, Meet, Calendar, Chat, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Keep, Sites, Forms and AppSheet.

Do you think anyone would decide not to buy Google Workspace because it no longer includes Jamboard? I don’t think so, that’s why Google can make the decision to discontinue Jamboard with few ramifications. Other than a lot of unhappy Jamboard users, including me!

When Did Jamboard Shut Down?

Jamboard became view-only on 1^st October 2024 and was permanently shut down on 31^st December 2024. If you exported your Jam files before the deadline, you can import them into Jotboard.

• After 1^st October, Google started automatically converting all Jams to PDF “on a best-effort basis”.
• After 31^st December, the Google Jamboard app was shut down and Jam data was permanently deleted.

If you still have exported PDFs of your Jams, there’s good news.

Google Jamboard Alternatives

I’ll be honest, there aren’t many. I’ve written another article on the best alternatives to Jamboard but the gist is this: most of the alternatives tout infinite canvases and hundreds of tools, instead of the easy-to-use, slide-based approach of Jamboard.

That’s why I decided to build Jotboard!

Jotboard is an easy-to-use collaborative whiteboard with a slide-based interface and a set of tools similar to Jamboard’s. The generous free plan offers unlimited boards and up to 5 collaborators simultaneously. Sign up for free to try it out!