Turn Google+ on or off for users
If you have Drive Enterprise edition, upgrade to G Suite Enterprise to get this service.
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, an organizational unit, or group.
Users who have Google+ enabled can use it for collaboration 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. 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. 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.
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 Home page, go to Apps
G Suite
- The status is displayed next to the G+ icon:
- On for everyone
- Off for everyone
- On for some organizations
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 for Education.
- 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 meet minimum age requirements
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).
- From the Admin console Home page, go to Apps
- At the top of the gray box, click Edit Service and choose Off for everyone to turn off the service for all users.
- Click Save.
Changes typically take effect in minutes, but can take up to 24 hours. For details, see Admin console settings don't update.
Before you begin: To turn the service on or off for a set 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).
- From the Admin console Home page, go to Apps
-
At the top right of the gray box, click Edit Service
.
-
To apply settings to individual organizational units, do the following:
- At the left, select the organizational unit that contains the users whose settings you want to change.
- To change the setting, select On or Off.
- To keep the setting the same, even if the parent setting changes, click Override.
- If the organization's status is already Overridden, choose an option:
Inherit—Reverts to the same setting as its parent.
Save—Saves your new setting (even if the parent setting changes).
Learn more about the organizational structure.
- If chose to turn on Google+, 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.
.Changes typically take effect in minutes, but can take up to 24 hours. For details, see Admin console settings don't update.
