Google finally stops forcing you to use Google+
When Google+ first launched back in 2011, Google pegged the social network as the future of the company, even going so far as to force users to create a Google+ account in order to use Gmail, Google Docs and almost every other Google-owner service.
Finally, after years of complaints, a new 'No Thanks' button allows you to avoid this process and just create an account for that individual platform. It looks like Google is finally accepting Google+'s fate. Forcing users to sign up for a platform they didn't actually want to use, probably wasn't a good idea.
Over the last few months, Google has been slowly separating many of its popular platforms from Google+. Earlier this month Google separated Hangouts, its video calling and chat service, from Google+, and back in August, Bloomberg reported Google has plans to also unlink its photo service from Google+.
Google+'s failure as a social media platform doesn't mean it wasn't useful, in fact, its image-backup service and ability to post to specific groups of friends, were great and useful. The platform just couldn't compete with much larger and more established social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Many people also likely didn't want to sign up for yet another social network.
These changes follow the creator of Google+, Vic Gundotra, leaving Google a few months ago. It's widely speculated Google has plans to turn Google+ into a product rather than a social network.
Back when Google+ first launched the platform combined Gmail, YouTube, Blogspot and various other Google services, sharing user data from different Google service in one central place.
It's unclear what Google's future plans are for Google+. It's possible that at some point in the future Google+ could slowly disappear, just like other Google platforms like Google Reader.
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