Last month, Google announced that it will be shutting down Google+ on April 2nd, 2019. In a blog post written on January 31, 2019, it acknowledged that the main reason for pulling the plug on Google+ was low performance. Google will still offer private Google+ powered networks for businesses currently using the software.
Google also advised users to save all content that they wish to keep prior to the shutdown. Photos and videos will be automatically backed up to Google Photos and will not be lost. However, any other posts or content on Google+ pages will be removed starting April 2nd.
Google+ Data Breach | Digital Marketing Toronto
Rumour has it that security issues with Google+ also contributed to its demise. Google did not directly address the recent security concerns in its post; however, a recent security flaw left nearly 500,000 Google+ users’ data exposed to third-party app developers. After that was fixed, another bug was found, and that led to an earlier shut down date in April.
In 2018, Google exposed the personal information of hundreds of thousands of users of its Google+ social network. The data breach took place between 2015 and 2018, but was not announced until October, 2018. The news, originally reported by The Wall Street Journal, meant that Google+ profile information like name, email address, occupation, gender, and age were exposed, even when that data was listed as private.
The company stated that it got rid of the bug in March 2018 shortly after learning of its existence. The WSJ reported that Google did not report it because of fear of “immediate regulatory interest” that would lump Google in with Facebook.
Timeline for Google+ Shutdown | Online Marketing Toronto
February 4: No new accounts, pages, or communities can be created.
March 1: Google+ community moderators and owners will be able to download their information, such as posts, photos, and any other information they would like to collect.
March 7th: Google+ sign in button will stop working for website and app owners. It may be replaced with the regular Google sign-in button.
On April 2nd , Google will begin the deletion process of all accounts on the service and any other pages that you created. Photos and videos backed up in Google photos will not be deleted. On the same day Google will delete all comments especially for website owners using Google+ comments in their websites or blogs. Google note that the process of actually deleting all that data might take a few months.
How to Download Google+ Pictures and Videos | Digital Marketing Toronto
You can download all of your content on Google+ at once, including your Google+ circles, Communities, Streams, and +1’s.
- Go to the Download your data You might have to sign in. Your available Google+ data will be preselected.
- Click
- Choose a file type.
- Choose how you want your data delivered.
- Click create archive.
Please let us know if you have any questions about this process or are having difficulty retrieving all your information. You can contact our digital marketing company in Toronto via our contact form.
About iRISEmedia | Digital Marketing Agency
iRISEmedia is an internet marketing company located in Toronto that focuses on helping clients in Canada, the U.S. and globally with digital marketing services consisting of social media marketing, website design, SEO and SEM, app development, online reputation management and online PR. Our team helps clients manage and grow their online presence and branding to increase their social media presence, qualified web traffic and online leads. For any internet marketing needs or inquiries, please contact us today at 1-855-493-3622 or visit us on our website.
