I’ve gotten several emails from concerned customers in the last couple days regarding a mysterious email they’ve received from Google, saying that their Google+ account is going away. I’ve copied and pasted a portion of this message from Google. Take a look, and then see my comments below.
— — —
From: Google+ Team <noreply@plus.google.com>
Subject:Your personal Google+ account is going away on April 2, 2019
You’ve received this email because you have a consumer (personal) Google+ account or you manage a Google+ page.
In December 2018, we announced 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. We want to thank you for being part of Google+ and provide next steps, including how to download your photos and other content.
On April 2nd, your Google+ account and any Google+ pages you created will be shut down and we will begin deleting content from consumer Google+ accounts. Photos and videos from Google+ in your Album Archive and your Google+ 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.
— — —
Friends, this is NOT a scam, and it requires no action for most people. Let’s first answer the question, “What is Google+ ?” It is Google’s answer to Facebook, a social media platform designed to connect Google users and provide a place to share photos, and communicate to large audiences. You may have never heard of it, and that’s because it never really took off. Facebook is a pretty big competitor, and Google+ was too late to the game, and couldn’t keep up.
“I don’t have a personal Google+ account,” you might say. Well, if you use Gmail for your email, then actually, yes, you do have a personal Google+ account. Your personal Google+ account is an online account that comes with many Google services, of which the primary is Gmail. Google’s other services are automatically a part of your personal account. Many people only use Google to search the Web, but if you use Gmail, then you also have a Google+ account. The language is a little confusing here, but think of your personal Google account as the umbrella, under which also resides your Gmail account, Google Photos account, Google+ account, etc. Access to all of those services comes bundled together with one Google account. Saying that you have a Gmail account is interchangeable with saying that you have a Google+ account. All these accounts tie into your personal Google account.
Getting back to the mysterious email now, due to the lack of people using the Google+ service (and a few data breaches), Google is shutting down the Google+ social media service. This means that Google+ is being removed as a service from your Google account. For those who never used the Google+ social media service, this means nothing for you. Your Gmail email service will continue to function as normal, and as mentioned in the email from Google, if you’re using the Google Photos service to store your photos in the cloud, that service will continue to operate as well.
For those who did or do use the Google+ service, this means that all message posts and photos will be removed and deleted unless you click the download link in the email you received.
Google+ will continue to function for Google business customers, as a part of the paid Gsuite services, but the consumer (personal) version of Google+ is done as of April 2nd, 2019. If you were never a Google+ user, then you can just delete that email from Google, and carry on as normal.