Category: Google Plus

Google To Initiate Deleting Google+ Photos and Pages, Starting April 2

Google made an announcement regarding its decision to shut down Google+ in the latter part of 2018. We all saw it coming, and so did Google, because they are about to start removing the majority of content from Google Plus. That’s what their blog and their support page says.

Reason For Shutdown

This shut-down was initiated because they were unable to tackle challenges involved in maintaining a successful product, according to Google. As per source, 90 percent of user sessions on Google+ don’t even last five seconds. Also, last year, Google shut down Google Plus for consumers after an audit turned up with the discovery of an exploit. In the above-mentioned links, Google laid out their exit strategy for Google+. The process will be slow, but all for the greater good.

Timeline For The Shutdown

Starting February, you will not be able to create a new Google+ profile, pages or any community. Once this happens, Google will start removing all Google+ accounts, along with all other information. This will include photos, videos and any form of content that has been uploaded to Google Plus in the past. The deletion will start on April 2, but as Google estimates, it will take a lot of time.

How Do Existing Users Improvise?

Also Read : Google I/O 2019 Dates And Venue Announced

Meanwhile, Google is providing detailed instructions to all its users regarding the Google+ Self-Service portal. The users can back up their data as per their requirement. All the pictures will be backed up in Google Photos. The Google Plus sign-in buttons will be removed from the Blogger pages. They may be replaced by Google Sign-in buttons. In addition to this, Google will br shutting down all of it’s Google Plus APIs. This is a bell for the developers so that they may move to alternatives, if they’re using any of these APIs. Hopefully, such a change is only for the better, so that Google may hint at a new take on Social Media yet again. Who knows?

January 31, 2019
Google To Shut Down Google+ After Data Breach

Alphabet, the company that owns Google is shutting down its social networking website. Google+ has reportedly exposed user data of 500,000 customers to external developers. This comes after an announcement of a bug breach that was reportedly in their system for more than two years.

This bug could access Profile fields that were shared with the user. This includes Profile fields that are not public.

The data is limited to static, optional Google+ Profile fields including name, email address, occupation, gender and age. It does not include any other data the user may have posted or connected to the website or any other service, like Google+ posts, messages, Google account data, phone numbers or G Suite content.

They reportedly discovered and immediately patched this bug in March 2018. Google also said that they believe it occurred after launch as a result of the API’s interaction with a subsequent Google+ code change. The company also acknowledged in their blog that one of the reasons for shutting down the Google+ is that it “has not achieved broad consumer or developer adoption.

To provide for a smooth transition for the existing users, they will wind- down over a 10 month period.

[blockquote right=”pull-right”]Google will wind- down over

a 10 month period, closing

its curtains in August 2018[/blockquote]
This means the Google+ site will close curtains next August. According to Google they have no evidence that any developer was aware of this bug. They have also assured that no one has abused the API. In Google’s finding there is no evidence that any Profile data misuse occurred.

The company has offered reassurance that whenever there is a user data breach, they go beyond their legal requirements and apply several criteria focused on their users in determining whether to provide notice. When it comes to Gmail, they are updating its User Data Policy for the consumer version. This will protect the user by limiting apps from accessing user data. There has been a lack of interest and the gradual decline of social media overall in the recent times. It is also noteworthy that just 10 days ago, Facebook reported a data breach of 50 Million users.

It seems that this was a good decision on the company’s part. Let us know what you think in the comments below!

October 9, 2018
Google Voice’s Website Gets Hangouts Integration

If you use Google Voice to manage your phone calls and text message, then you must be waiting to see if Google will eventually merge Google Voice with Hangouts for Android and iOS. Well, Google went ahead and did it for PCs, integrating Hangouts into the Google Voice website.

In a Wednesday post, Google Voice developer Alex Wiesen announced the addition of Hangouts as an option when making calls from the Web. The feature can be accessed selecting Hangouts from a drop-down menu labeled “Phone to call with.” The website will then launch a separate Hangouts window, allowing the conversation to take place as normal. Hangouts is seen as Google’s’ solution to its fractured messaging systems, and even offers the ability to place phone calls.

But while the new platform has been heralded as “the future of Google Voice,” little has been done to merge the two services. Nonetheless, the decision to integrate Hangouts in Google Voice shows the company is still actively developing the latter.

To use the new option, visit the Google Voice website and enter the number you’d like to call. Then, in the drop-down menu under Phone to call with, you’ll see an option for Hangouts. This will open a separate Hangouts window and you can carry on your voice conversation via Hangouts as you normally would.

In May 2013, Google began work on allowing outbound Google Voice calls within the new Hangouts experience; it arrived two months later. Earlier this month, the Google Operating System blog spotted a feature that migrates Google Voice numbers to Hangouts—a sign that the Web giant may be moving forward with the plan to integrate the two features, then shutter the separate Voice tool.

July 25, 2014