Gmail quietly drops mandatory Google+ accounts for new users
Google has bowed to public pressure and quietly ditched its requirement for all new users of its popular Gmail service to sign up for a Google+ account whilst doing so, a public acknowledgment of the lack of popularity in the latter service.
Now when signing up to a Gmail account Google has kindly inserted a ‘no thanks’ button for those not wishing to take the plunge with Google+, although the search giant claims it remains committed to the Facebook rival for now.
In a statement provided to WordStream Google said: “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)."
Google+ has been in a state of flux since the departure of its president Vic Gundotra in April, a move which has presaged a series of consolidations of the platforms social functions.