Google is going to close down the consumer version of Google Plus come April 2019, the company has announced.
Google announced the decision to shut down Google Plus for consumers in April 2019 due to low usage and challenges involved in maintaining a successful product that meets consumers’ expectations.
What does this mean to you?
If you have have a Google Plus personal profile and/or created pages, they will be shut down and Google will delete all content uploaded. Photos and videos in your Album Archive and your Google Plus pages will also be deleted. You can download and save your content, just make sure to do so before April. Note that photos and videos backed up in Google Photos will not be deleted.
The process of deleting content from consumer Google Plus accounts, Pages, and Album Archive will take a few months, and content may remain through this time. For example, users may still see parts of their account via activity log and some consumer content may remain visible to G Suite users until consumer Google Plus is deleted.
Google has revealed that websites and apps using the social media sign in button will stop working in the coming weeks, however in some cases this button may be replaced by a Google Sign-in button. You will still be able to sign in with your Google account wherever you see the sign-in buttons.
For G Suite customers; you plus accounts attached to your G Suite accounts should remain active. Contact your G Suite administrator for more details.
As early as February 4th, you will no longer be able to create new Google Plus profiles, pages, communities or events.
“From all of us on the Google Plus team, thank you for making Google+ such a special place. We are grateful for the talented group of artists, community builders, and thought leaders who made Google+ their home. It would not have been the same without your passion and dedication.” – Google
