Here at Pitstop, we recently received a number of emails from Google about the pending shut down of our Google+ accounts. There was urgency around the message- we need to save any Google+ data BEFORE April 1 otherwise all content will be deleted! Scared yet?
Don’t be.
There’s a very good reason for the shutdown, and saving files is simple.
Why is Google+ shutting down?
Google + has been flailing for some time. Launched in 2011 Google+ has been competing with social networking giants like Facebook, and usage has been low. Worse though, Google’s social network has been riddled by spam-bots and security issues, which has led to a planned shut down in August 2019. After spotting another bug late December 2018, the shut down was bought forward to April 2019.
What is being deleted?
Your Google+ pages, including photos, videos and other content that is stored in your Google+ account. This shutdown will NOT impact other Google services; your Gmail account will not be impacted, nor will your Google Photos, YouTube and Maps. For business owners, this will not impact your Google MyBusiness or Google Webmaster.
Does this matter to you?
If you use Google+ actively (are you really though?), then yes – you should probably save your data now.
If you don’t use Google+, then go make a cup of tea and click here to read something more interesting. Even for those who rely on search engine traffic for their website, the impact will be minimal if not zero. Over the years, the importance of Google+ has dwindled within the search engine algorithm for Google. Even for those who would +1 a comment, the importance on this has dwindled.
There is an area of contention however – YouTube comments. For YouTube Channel owners, it is unclear if comments made on your videos via Google+ accounts will be impacted.
We are waiting for Google to confirm how they plan on handling this, and will share information when we have it.
No really, I do use it… so how do I save my stuff?
Follow the instructions here or contact Pitstop and we’d be happy to help!
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