If the above email looks familiar then you are one of the hundreds of thousands of people who received it in the last week. It is titled “Your personal Google+ account is going away on April 2, 2019”. Our message to Google is; you could have worded that better!
As a digital marketing company responsible for many client accounts we instantly received emails from worried clients about what they were going to do about the Google Plus Shutdown? All of their information, emails, photos, files and more were stored in the Google database! It’s all we could do to say “Don’t worry, your data is safe, it’s not going anywhere!” Yes, the Google Plus shutdown is happening, but that will not affect any of the other Google Services that you use.
What is Google Plus?
Google Plus is, in short, Google’s version of Facebook. Google created Google Plus in June 2011 as a competing social media platform against Facebook. Many people already within the Google network were prompted to join using a very simple sign up method while others may have been forced to join a few years ago in order to comment on YouTube, that feature was since removed. These actions, among others, have caused many people to have Google Plus accounts that they gave no thought to over the last several years.
Google has tried very hard several times to make Google Plus a “thing” but has never succeeded, so they have finally given in to the fact that it’s a waste of resources to keep going.
How does the Google Plus shutdown affect you?
The Google Plus shutdown means that as of April 2nd, you will no longer have access to your Google Plus account, any content you have shared on the Google Plus platform, or any connections you have made through the your Google Plus account. If you have backed up any of this information, specifically your photos, into Google Photos or Google Drive, they will be safe and continue to be stored there.
- If you have any connect via Google+ links on your website, these will no longer function, so it is important to remove them.
- If you use Google+ for comments on your own or other websites, this will be removed and the comments deleted.
- If you use Google+ to sign in to any sites and/or apps, most login options will change so you can login using your regular Google account.
For a complete data download from Google+, Google has provided this link to show you how to completely download all of your data from the platform.
Digital Marketing Companies Should All Know About The Google Plus Shutdown
Our digital marketing team here at Net Branding stay on top of online moves like this one. When our clients came to us with their worries or concerns about the Google Plus shutdown, we were quick to respond and reassure them. This responsiveness and knowledge is what sets us apart from the digital marketing crowd. Get in touch with us today for all of your digital marketing needs.
