Soon to be GONE.
As of April 2, 2019, Google will be shutting down its Google Plus (Google+) social networking service.
Google launched its service with much fanfare back in 2011 after a short limited user launch in June of that year. Google+ includes tools from services and platforms such as Picasso photo and has features similar to other popular social networks.
So why is Google shutting it down?
Official statements sent to users in February state that Google decided to shut down the service in December of 2018. Citing low usage and challenges involved in maintaining the product to meet user’s expectations.
Many point to a March 2018 data breach as the a primary driver of the decisions. Developers shared personal personal and private information from over 500,000 user accounts without user permission. The delay in informing impacted users is expected to lead to an investigation in the US and Europe.
On the bright side…
Google has developed a way for you to download and save any of your content. Also noted is that your photos or videos uploaded via the service will not be deleted from Google Photos.
Users have until March 31 to back up their Google+ data using the process below. (Note: This process will NOT remove your profile. Use this link for instructions to delete your Google+ profile.)
- Login to your Google+ account.
- Go to the “Download your data” page. Your Google+ data will be pre-selected.
- Click NEXT.
- Choose a file type.
- Choose how you want your data to be delivered.
- Click CREATE ARCHIVE.
If you want to download Google+ Pages content, you will need to sign in as the Google+ Page.
Don’t forget! If you want to back up your Google+ content, you only have until March 31. So do it soon before it’s gone!
Do you have a Google+ story that you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear about it.
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