Google Announces Closure of Google+ After Years of Struggle
(Google’s failures and attempts in social media (Google+))
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – Google confirmed today it is ending Google+, its social networking service. This move follows years of challenges and low user interest. Google+ launched in 2011. The company hoped it would compete with Facebook and Twitter.
Google+ offered features like “Circles” for sharing with specific groups. It also included video chats. Despite these features, Google+ never gained widespread popularity. Many users found it confusing. Others simply didn’t see a reason to switch from established platforms. Google tried hard to attract users. It forced YouTube commenters to use Google+ profiles. This move angered many YouTube users. It damaged goodwill.
A major data breach occurred in 2018. Google discovered a software flaw. This flaw exposed private profile data for hundreds of thousands of users. Google chose not to tell the public immediately. This decision caused significant criticism later. The breach damaged trust further. User activity was already very low. Most accounts were inactive.
Google finally admitted Google+ had failed. It announced the consumer version would shut down in April 2019. The company cited very low usage and the challenges of maintaining the platform. Google also acknowledged the difficulty of meeting user expectations. A version for businesses continued for a short time. That version also ended later.
(Google’s failures and attempts in social media (Google+))
The shutdown process began in early 2019. Google gave users months to download their photos and data. The Google+ website and mobile apps stopped working for consumers. Google’s efforts in social media have mostly ended. Past attempts like Buzz and Orkut also closed. Google now focuses on other products.