Back in December, Google announced that they would be closing down their social network, Google+, as a result of “low usage and and challenges involved in maintaining a successful product that meets consumers’ expectations”, and now we have a date for that closure: April 2nd.
If the numbers are anything to go by, you probably don’t use Google+, so this news probably doesn’t affect you. But the fact that one of the largest tech companies in the world couldn’t create a successful social networking platform that consumers actually wanted to use is an interesting one.
An email sent out to all Google+ users explains that on April 2nd, all Google+ pages will be shut down, and Google will begin deleting data from user accounts, including photos and videos stored in the album archives. As early as Monday, February 4th, users will no longer be able to create new pages or communities.
If you’re anything like me, you used your Gmail address to sign into Google+ once or twice and never thought about it again.
From a user’s point of view, what purpose did Google+ serve that wasn’t already being filled by Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and even LinkedIn? Google jumped on the social media train too late; by 2011, people had already become reliant on Facebook as their main social media platform.
The interface was minimalist and honestly, a little boring – sure, Facebook has a habit of changing their homepage every six months, causing millions of people to complain, but at least it looks engaging. Yes, Facebook isn’t without its controversies, but it’s hardly alone in that.
The Guardian suggested that part of the reason for the closure could be the data leak that Google+ experienced in March 2018, but that Google didn’t disclose until six months later. The leak “potentially affected up to 500,000 accounts”, and my main takeaway from that is sheer amazement that 500,000 Google+ accounts even existed, frankly.
The closure of Google+ and the deletion of data won’t affect your Gmail account, or your Google Photo archive, or your YouTube account, so don’t panic. If you have anything on Google+ that you want to save, you can download all of your data here. Otherwise, let’s just pour one out for the social network that never quite made it.