Gmail has dropped its mandatory Google+ signup, according to reports.
The push was apparently made earlier this month, a spokesperson has confirmed. For several years, Gmail required a Google+ account.
“We updated the signup experience in early September. Users can now create a public profile during signup, or later, if and when they share public content for the first time (like a restaurant review, YouTube video or Google+ post),” the spokesperson told the Telegraph.
Forbes writer Amit Chowdhry posted a screenshot of the signup process, and it has a “No Thanks” option.
A few months ago, Google took down search results for its Google+ author profiles to “clean up the visual design” of the search service.
According to Marketing Land, “Some will see this change as more evidence that Google is de-emphasizing (or even preparing to kill) its three-year-old social network. That was popular speculation in April after Vic Gundotra, Google’s godfather of Google+, stepped down in April. More heads were nodding when Google removed the display of Google+ authorship information from search results last month.”
“But more likely, in my opinion, is that Google will continue making subtle changes to the service, making improvements to popular Google+ products like Hangouts and Hangouts on Air or even spinning off its excellent photo product so people without Google+ accounts can use it,” writes Martin Beck for the publication.
