Please check this page periodically for updates. Last updated: April 25, 2019
If you use the consumer (personal) version of Google+ (typically ending in @gmail.com), see frequently asked questions about the Google+ shutdown instead.
Not sure if you have a Google Workspace account? Check your account type here.
Because the consumer version of Google+ is shutting down in April 2019, Google Workspace customers might see some upcoming changes to Google+ features including the list below. These changes primarily affect how your organization may interact with consumer content.
The process of deleting content from consumer Google+ will take a few months. Some consumer Google+ content may remain visible to users until consumer Google+ is deleted.
We remain committed to the enterprise version of Google+, and new features will be coming soon. For more details, see the Google Cloud blog post.
Changes starting as early as February 4, 2019
Google+ pages
Last updated: January 29, 2019
All users will not be able to create new Google+ pages.
Google+ circles
Last updated: March 1, 2019
Users will also not be able to share profile information to circles, extended circles, or custom circles.
Google+ commenting on any websites
Last updated: January 29, 2019
Blogger and other sites may use Google+ as their commenting service. This feature will be removed from Blogger by February 4th and other sites by March 7th. While all Google+ comments will be removed from these sites, users will still be able to see the comments they made in their Google+ activity log.
Google Play Services Public Beta Program Opt-In
Last updated: January 29, 2019
As we begin shutting down the consumer version of Google+, Google Workspace users who have opted in to the Google Play Services Public Beta Program may experience issues using Google apps like Gmail. To avoid any interruption in service, users can leave the Beta Program. Learn how to leave the Beta Program
Changes starting on March 7, 2019
Google+ Android app
Last updated: January 29, 2019
A new version of the Google+ Android app will be released on February 22, 2019. All Google Workspace Android users will need to update the Google+ Android app before March 7, 2019 to continue using Google+ on mobile devices. Old versions of the app will no longer be supported.
Google+ and Classic Google Sites
Last updated: January 29, 2019
Google+ gadgets in classic Google Sites will no longer work starting March 7, 2019, so you may want to remove them. Google+ embeds in the new Google Sites will continue to work.
Changes starting as early as April 2, 2019
Communities
Last updated: January 29, 2019
Important: Google+ content in consumer accounts will be deleted starting on April 2, 2019 as part of the consumer Google+ shutdown. For communities outside your domain that aren’t owned by at least one Google Workspace user, community owners and moderators of these communities may download and save community data before April 2, 2019.
Currently, if you download data for communities outside your domain, this data will only have links to community posts. Starting early March 2019, additional data will be available for download, including author, body, and photos for every community post in a public community. For details, see Download your Google+ data.
Check the Google+ community types you use below to see details about upcoming changes. Users’ access to different types of communities will continue to depend on their administrator’s content sharing and access settings.
Domain-restricted public or private community
Description: A public or private community that only people from your domain can join or view.
Domain-restricted communities will continue to function as they do today.
Public community, outside your domain
Description: A public community that people inside and outside your domain can join or view. These communities may have members from outside your organization.
For public communities, outside your domain, the following will be deleted:-
Communities that don’t have an owner with a Google Workspace account. If at least one owner is a Google Workspace user, the community will not be deleted. Google Workspace users can see their own content from deleted communities in their Google+ activity log.
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Community content from consumer users’ accounts. Only content from Google Workspace users will remain.
Additional upcoming changes to public communities, outside your domain:
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All remaining content in these communities will be visible to Google Workspace users only.
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These communities will become ask-to-join communities, if they are not already.
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Google Workspace users will no longer be able to create new public communities outside their domain. They will only be able to create new private communities outside their domain (invite-only), and only Google Workspace users can join.
Private community, outside your domain
Description: A private community that people inside and outside your domain can join.
For private communities, outside your domain, the following will be deleted:-
Communities that don’t have an owner with a Google Workspace account. If at least one owner is a Google Workspace user, the community will not be deleted. Google Workspace users can see their own content from deleted communities in their Google+ activity log.
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Community content from consumer users’ accounts. Only content from Google Workspace users will remain.
Additional upcoming changes to private communities, outside your domain:
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For new communities, outside your domain, the "visible on search" setting will no longer be available.
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For existing communities, outside your domain, the “visible on search” setting will be disabled and cannot be re-enabled.
Google+ search experience
Last updated: April 25, 2019
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For private communities, outside your domain, the “visible on search” setting will no longer be available.
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In non-domain-restricted Google+ search results, Google Workspace users will only see private communities outside their domain if they’re already members.
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The Admin console setting Profile discoverability will be removed. As the new default, Google Workspace users' Google+ profiles can no longer be shared publicly or available through public search. Some search engines may serve cached content.
Collections
Last updated: April 2, 2019
Collections will continue to exist on April 2, 2019, but will start being phased out in the future.
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Google Workspace users won’t be able to:
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Create new collections. Any existing collections will remain.
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Add content to a collection that is not domain-restricted.
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Google Workspace users will still be able to:
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Add content to a collection that is domain-restricted.
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Delete internal and external collections that they own.
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Circles
Last updated: April 2, 2019
Circles will continue to exist on April 2, 2019, but will start being phased out in the future.
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Google Workspace users won’t be able to:
- Create new circles.
- Add people without a Google+ account to existing circles.
- Share a post to a circle.
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Google Workspace users will still be able to delete their circles.
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After the consumer shutdown, non-Google Workspace users will be removed from circles.
Profile
Last updated: January 29, 2019
The Google+ profile field for tagline will be deleted from Google+. If you wish to save this data, select the “Profile” option in Takeout. Google Workspace users can still view and edit other fields, such as name, in their Google accounts’ About Me page.
Google+ Vanity URLs
Last updated: January 29, 2019
Google+ vanity URL names will no longer be supported and will be deleted. Any links that use Google+ vanity URLs, including Album Archive, will no longer work. However, Google Workspace users can still use their Google+ profile’s original URL.
Google+ pages
Last updated: January 29, 2019
All Google+ pages, including posts and comments on pages, will be deleted. If there is content you’d like to keep, download and save it before April 2019. Please notify any Google+ page owners at your organization about this change.
Google+ Events
Last updated: January 29, 2019
All Google+ Events and associated content will be deleted. If you wish to save this data, download and save it.
Google+ +1s on external websites
Last updated: January 29, 2019
All +1's made on external websites will be deleted. If you wish to save this data, download and save it.
Deletion behavior
Last updated: January 29, 2019
Previously, upon Google Workspace customer cancellation, certain customers (e.g. Google Workspace for Education customers) could continue to use Google+. Going forward, upon cancellation of Google Workspace, all Google Workspace customers’ content will be flagged for deletion.
Administrator settings for Google+
Last updated: April 25, 2019
The following administrator settings for Google+ will be removed from the Admin console:
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Sharing posts: Previously, administrators could control whether their users' posts can be shared outside their organization's Google Workspace domain by default. Going forward, new posts will be restricted to the domain by default. However, if your domain’s Content Sharing and Access setting is Public mode, users can still share posts outside their domain in external communities they’ve joined.
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Profile discoverability: Previously, administrators could control whether users' profiles can be indexed by search engines, by default. Going forward, Google Workspace users' Google+ profiles can no longer be shared publicly or available through public search. Some search engines may serve cached content.
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Google+ APIs: Apps will not be able to access Google+ APIs other than new implementations of people.get and people.getOpenIdConnect used for sign-in and identity. For details, see Google+ API shutdown.
Consumer accounts upgrading to Google Workspace
Last updated: March 22, 2019
If a user in your domain upgrades from a consumer account to a Google Workspace account on or after April 2, 2019, the Google+ data they created before this upgrade might be deleted due to the consumer Google+ shutdown, and Google Workspace administrators will not manage this data. This deletion can happen at any point up until we finish deleting content from consumer Google+ accounts. Deletion can occur even if your upgraded users can see such data in their accounts.
Any new Google+ data the user creates with their Google Workspace account after the conversion should not be affected. If new content your users post includes media that was uploaded to consumer Google+, such media might also be deleted unless it is backed up in their Google Photos.
If your users would like to retain any remaining Google+ data from their consumer account, they can download and save their content before converting their account. Administrators may also choose to disable Google+ for users in their domain.
