Turn Google+ on or off for users
As a G Suite administrator, you can control who in your organization uses Google+ from their managed account. Google+ is turned on by default for new G Suite customers, but administrators have the ability to control whether Google+ is on or off for users in a domain or an organizational unit.
Users who have Google+ enabled can use it for social networking at your company or school, and can also use Google+ for sharing beyond your domain.
Before you begin, carefully review the following requirements and considerations:
Before disabling Google+
Notes:
- If you disable Google+, your users can no longer create new Google+ content, but they can still access existing content using the direct link. This includes content restricted to your organization.
- If you disable Google+, your users can no longer sign in to Google+, but some Google+ data will still be visible unless users first delete their Google+ profile. For example, if the user’s Google+ profile is not deleted, public Google+ content created by that user can still be viewed. Domain restricted content is still shown in domains where Google+ is disabled. Users cannot create new content or modify existing content.
Tell your users about the coming changes
- Let your users know when they'll no longer be able to sign in to Google+ using their Google accounts. When Google+ is turned off, users cannot create new Google+ posts, but they can still access existing content using the direct link. This includes content restricted to your organization.
- If Google+ is turned on again, all content can be accessed normally and users can create new posts. This includes public posts, posts restricted to your domain, and privately shared posts.
- To permanently delete all visible Google+ data, the user or administrator must delete the user’s Google+ profile. Profile data will not be accessible even if the Google+ service is turned on again.
Data that is still visible after Google+ is turned off
Users can visit the downgrade page without deleting their profile to learn more about the data that is deleted or not deleted. For example:
If a user’s Google+ profile is not deleted when Google+ is turned off, the following Google+ data is still visible to others:
- Google+ Profiles: The sections of users’ profiles that they shared publicly are still visible to anyone on the web.
- Posts: All of a user’s posts (text, photos, and videos) are still visible to anyone with whom they shared them.
Even if a user’s Google+ profile is deleted, some data is still visible. For example:
- Any photos and videos that users shared through Google Photos are not deleted, even if users delete their Google+ profile.
- Users can still access their photos and videos in Google Photos, unless you also disable that service.
- If you also disable Google Photos, users’ photos are not deleted. Anyone with whom users have shared photos can still view those photos.
- Even if Google Photos is disabled, the users’ photos are still available using the Google album archive, which is never disabled.
Before enabling Google+
Before you turn on Google+ for your organization, review the following information to understand the requirements and impact.
Check if Google+ is already turned onGoogle+ is automatically turned on for new G Suite domains.
To check if Google+ is on or off for your existing domain:
-
Sign in to your Google Admin console.
Sign in using your administrator account (does not end in @gmail.com).
From the Admin console dashboard, go to Apps
G Suite
- The status is displayed next to the G+ icon:
- On for everyone
- Off (for everyone)
- On for some organizations
From the Admin console dashboard, go to Apps
G SuiteFor example, Google+ may be turned on if all of the following applied when Google+ was released:
- You had G Suite or G Suite.
- Your Admin console was set up to automatically opt in to new services.
Users must have a Google+ profile
- Administrators can create Google+ profiles for users in your organization.
- Users can create their own Google+ profile.
Users must must be 13 or older
Users should use their common name in Google+
Security considerations
Users can share information with others outside your domain
To use Google+, users must have a Google+ Profile, which is publicly visible to anyone on the web. Profiles can be restricted from being indexed by search engines to make them harder to find, but the basic Google+ profile, which is created by administrators and includes only the user’s name, is always visible to anyone with the user’s profile URL.
Profiles can be restricted from being indexed by search engines
- Administrators can restrict search engines from indexing the profiles in a domain or organization.
- Users can change their profile's search results setting if they don't want Google and other search engines to index their profile.
Visibility of additional information
If a user also adds an (optional) profile photo, tagline, or cover photo, that information will also be visible to anyone with the user’s profile URL (these fields can't be restricted to the organization’s domain). The other profile fields can be restricted to your organization’s domain, and even to specific people within the domain. See Manage your Google+ for Work profile for more information.
Users can share content outside your domain
Users can share content, including text messages, photos, and videos, with other Google+ users outside your domain. They can also make any content they share publicly visible to anyone on the web. However, you can make the default setting for new posts restricted to your domain. Learn more about restricting posts
Users can sign in to apps built by third parties
Google+ Sign-In lets users use their existing Google credentials to safely sign in to apps built by third parties. Users can then selectively share their online activity through their circles. Learn more.
Users can export or transfer their Google+ data
Users can export or transfer their Google+ data using Google Takeout, even if you’ve disabled Google+ for their accounts, if Google Takeout is turned on for their accounts (it's on by default). This data includes profiles, streams, circles, contacts, and photos. Learn more
Note: You can control access to Google Takeout using your Admin console. You'll find the on/off setting under Apps > Additional Google services > Google Takeout. For details, see Turn Additional Google Services on or off.
Legal requirements
In using Google+, your organization is solely responsible for complying with all laws and regulations that might be applicable to the provision of Google+ to your organization's end users. This includes but is not limited to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) and Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA).
Turn Google+ on or off
Disable Google+ in the Admin console- Review the considerations before disabling Google+, and inform your users of the changes.
- Tell users about the Google+ data that will be deleted, and what data will still available.
- Ask users to delete their Google+ profile (or delete it for them), if necessary.
-
Sign in to your Google Admin console.
Sign in using your administrator account (does not end in @gmail.com).
- At the top of the gray box, click More
and choose Off to turn off the service for all users.
- Click again to confirm.
Before you begin: To turn the service on or off for select groups of users, put their accounts in an organizational unit.
- Review the considerations before enabling Google+.
-
Sign in to your Google Admin console.
Sign in using your administrator account (does not end in @gmail.com).
- At the top of the gray box, click More
and choose:
- On for everyone to turn on the service for all users (click again to confirm).
- Off to turn off the service for all users (click again to confirm).
- On for some organizations to change the setting only for some users.
- If you chose On for some organizations:
- Select the organization that contains the users whose settings you want to change.
- Click Override or Inherit, whichever appears.
Override makes the setting stay the same, even if the parent setting changes.
Inherit reverts to the same setting as its parent. - If you clicked Override, click On
or Off
to change the setting.
- Click Apply twice to confirm.
Learn more about the organizational structure.
- Check the box to acknowledge Google+ conditions of use. Then click Turn Google+ on.
- Make sure users' required services are also turned on.
- Get users started with Google+.
- Tell users to sign up and create their Google+ profile.
- Send welcome email to introduce users to using Google+.
- Let users know about the help center and learning center resources.
and choose:
or Off 
to change the setting.