Google + Announces Shut Down
Google announced in December last year that it was planning on shutting down Google +.
However, at the time, Google didn’t give a specific time frame. We have since learned in a statement from Google in January this year that the shut down will begin in April.
Google is therefore urging users of Google + to download their data or lose it forever.
For anyone who has been trying, or wants to create a Google+ profile, pages, communities or events – this has pretty much been stopped from the beginning of this month (Feb), for obvious reasons.
Once the platform has been shut down, you will not be able to retrieve your data.
Google are urging all Google + consumers to download all their data before April the 2nd, or potentially lose the information forever.
How do I download my content from Google +
- Login to your account
- Go to the ‘Download Your Data Page’
- Confirm the data you want
- Choose how you want to save your data (eg. zip) and how you want to access the file.
- Then simply create the archive.
Useful short cut to your Download Data Page On this page you will have the opportunity to choose which items you want to download, all items will be preselected by default.
There is an easy step, by step, set up so you can go through it to ensure you get all your data safely.
Why can I still see data from my Google + Account?
The process of shutting down Google + will take several months, in which case your google + account, and data may still be visible up to the time the account is deleted.
I use my Google + to sign into websites
If you sign into any websites or apps using the Google + sign-in button, you may find that the buttons stop working or they are replaced by a Google sign-in button.
Why is Google + shutting down?
Google have suffered a couple of big security leaks from the platform, the first where over 5,000,000 Google + accounts became exposed.
After fixing that, a further bug caused 52.5 million users to become exposed. However, this is not the reason Google is giving.
They have said in their statement
our decision to shut down Google+ for consumers in April 2019 due to low usage and challenges involved in maintaining a successful product that meets consumers’ expectations.
Whatever the truth is behind the decision, if you are a Google + consumer you only have a matter of weeks to save your data – So don’t delay!