Skip to main content

Google Plus

See All Stories

Google Plus was developed at breakneck speed to counter the rising threat of Facebook in social. Launched in June 2011, Google Plus allowed users to post status updates and organized friends into groups called Circles. There was an instant messaging and video component called Hangouts, as well as a photo backup service.

In addition to being a social network, Plus was meant to be the social layer to all of Google’s other products. A user’s Google Plus profile was used for many other services, like YouTube. The ‘+1’ button was a competitor to Facebook’s ‘Like’ button and was present throughout the web.

Despite the attempts at company-wide integration, Google Plus never really took of among users. In November of 2015, Google unveiled a major redesign that put a renewed focus on Collections and Communities to create an interest-based social network instead.

Popular features like Hangouts and Google Photos were eventually spun out into their own separate and wildly popular product.

‘Classic’ Google+ interface will be deprecated on Jan 24th, while Events feature returns

Site default logo image

google_plus_android

In late 2015, Google+ received a significant redesign and a new focus on Communities and Collections. While Google iterated on this new version, the old version remained accessible. With a slew of new features coming, including Events, the classic interface will no longer be available as of later this month.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

Google+ becomes part of Google Apps for Work’s core services

google

Google Plus is a social media network that is either fantastic or a ghost town depending on who you ask. Google has long stood behind its social network and is now looking to bring it — in an officially supported capacity — to the enterprise market. Starting today, Google+ is a “core” service packaged alongside other officially supported Google Apps for Work services…


Expand
Expanding
Close

Google+ on the web adds push notifications in Chrome

google-plus-logo

Its redesign is now old news, but Google is still slowly adding features to Google+ — and recently they quietly added push notifications on the desktop. Through Google Chrome, users can now get their notifications pushed to them on top of active windows. While this isn’t for everybody (it is Google+, of course), this should prove useful for those who actively use the social network and want to quickly respond to any new mentions or post notifications.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Hangouts on Air will move from Google+ to YouTube Live next month

youtube-home

Over the past several months we’ve been seeing Google moving various services away from Google+. The app no longer comes pre-loaded on Android devices, you no longer need a Google+ account for YouTube or Google Play, and now the company is cutting another chunk out of the social network, Hangouts on Air.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Paranoid Android is back with new ‘all new features’, ‘new team members’ and more

Paranoid Android 2016Following the acquisition by OnePlus back in February 2015, most of the team working on the Paranoid Android ROM fled to the Chinese company’s shore to work on the Oxygen OS, which eventually made its way to the OnePlus 2 and its sibling smartphones.

There was no indication that the team would make a comeback, but as per a post released today, it looks like death previsions were everything but right…


Expand
Expanding
Close

New Google+ Content Controls flag spam and inappropriate posts in Communities

scf

The latest iteration of Google+ heavily revolves around Collections and Communities. To help prevent spam and inappropriate content, Communities now have more aggressive content controls and filters that will flag posts. Google is gradually rolling out the new filters to existing communities…


Expand
Expanding
Close

Google+ update makes Circles more prominent, new Create program highlights top creators

google-plus-create

When Google+ launched in 2011, one of its marquee features was grouping people into circles. There was a nifty drag-and-drop interface and the ability to limit posts to specific circles. Last year’s Google+ redesign hid the feature, but an update to the Android app now resurfaces it. The social network is also launching Google+ Create to recognize top content creators and give them access to early features.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Play Games announces automatic sign-in, no longer requires a Google+ account

google-play-games

Over the weekend, Google announced changes to Play Games permissions that are mostly meant for developers, but regular users who game on Android will also see a benefit. Players no longer need their Google accounts upgraded to Google+ to use Play Games and can now automatically be signed-in with a standard Google account.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Google testing opening links via Chrome Custom Tabs in Google+ app

Screenshot 2015-11-25 at 8.40.40 PM

Some users are reporting that links in Google+ for Android are opening as Chrome Custom Tabs. The feature introduced and released last year opens links twice as fast when compared to being pushed out to a browser. The update appears to be triggered server-side and was apart of last week’s update.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Google+ 7.0.0 for Android rolling out with improved search, auto-hiding bottom tab bar, more

google-plus-logo-new

Google, Luke Wroblewski has shared some information on a new version of the Google Plus app which should be rolling out to the Play Store over the next couple of days. The G+ update will take the social networking app up to version 7.0.0 and includes a number of requested new features, as well as a boatload of bug fixes.

In the latest version of Google’s Android app, users should notice that the bottom tab bar is automatically hidden whenever they’re scrolling up or down any page (except the notifications screen). It may seem like a minor design change, but it does free up more screen real estate for actual content, and makes the app look a lot less cluttered.

Another new useful feature (which I can’t quite believe wasn’t already there) is the autocomplete suggestions which show up as you type in the search bar. As well as that, the home stream will now remember your position if you happen to go to a different screen within the app, so you don’t have to scroll down to find where you were when you return to it.

Lastly, along with the 69 bug fixes and 14 accessibility issues that were addressed, the new Google Plus app places a prompt on your profile to add a Collection or Community if you don’t have one. As we all know by now, Google Plus is now all about the Collections and Communities.

google-plus

The updated app is available on the Play Store from today. If you have it installed, the update should show up on your device over the next day or two, if it hasn’t already.

Google Plus on web gets update, Auto-play GIFs can now be toggled on/off

Google-plus-redesign

Following the recent major Google Plus update and renewed focus on Communities and Collections, the social network’s web view recently updated with a few much-needed tweaks. Googler, Luke Wroblewski posted to his profile with details of the new changes being made to the online version.

As you’d expect, many of these new changes are being released to strengthen the Communities and Collections experiences. Within Community pages, the sidebar now has links taking you directly to individual categories specific to that Community. What’s more, you can now pin posts within Collections, and there’s a clearer notification indicator on the home stream to inform you how many notifications you have to read through. Google has also built in a new pop-up window to make sure you don’t lose new posts when you switch to a different page.

Perhaps of most relief is the new toggle which lets you switch auto-playing GIFs on or off. Apparently opinion was divided on whether they should auto-play, or not. Some loved it, others hated it, so Google gave users the option to choose. Details and images of the new features are below:

G+ Web Preview Update 12/11
Today we’re rolling out several updates to our G+ preview on the Web including:

* Visible links to categories on Community pages
* Auto-play of animated GIFs (with a setting to turn on/off)
* Ability to pin posts within Collections
* Clearer indication of notifications on the home stream
* Warning to ensure you don’t lose new posts when changing pages

Some of these changes were unanimously requested (people want community categories visible!). Others required us to strike an appropriate balance between opposing feedback (some people love animated GIFs, others don’t!). In all cases, we really appreciate your thoughts so please keep them coming using the Send Feedback menu item.

Screen Shot 2015-12-12 at 16.53.45

$100 Google Play gift card for under $80 shipped (20% off)

Google Play-sale-gift card-Black Friday-01
From 9to5Toys.com
:

As expected from its leaked Black Friday ad, Sam’s Club is now offering a $100 Google Play gift card for $79.64 shipped. That’s more than 20% off your next Google Play purchases on games, apps, movies, TV shows and more. While we do see iTunes gift cards go on sale quite often, these Google Play vouchers are much harder to come by. They can be amazing gifts for Android users and anyone who’s locked into Google’s video services.

It ships free and can be redeemed on the web or Android devices. Full details/instructions can be found below. Head over to 9to5Toys for all of the best Black Friday deals the entire weekend-long.

Includes:

One (1) $100 Google Play gift card

To redeem on the web:

  1. Go to play.google.com/redeem.
  2. Scratch label off of card & enter code.
  3. Start shopping – your gift card value will be added to your Google Play balance.

To redeem on an Android phone/tablet:

  1. Launch the Google Play Store app on your Android phone or tablet.
  2. Select Redeem.
  3. Scratch label off of card & enter code.
  4. Start shopping – your gift card value will be added to your Google Play balance.

Specifications

Terms and Conditions

Use of card subject to additional terms and privacy policy: play.google.com/about/card-terms.html. Valid only for users 13+ years of age and resident of U.S. Redemption requires Google Wallet account and internet access. Limits may apply to redemption and use. No fees or expiration dates applicable to this card. Card may be used for purchases of eligible items on Google Play only. Any refunded amount will be credited back to your Google Play balance for future use under same terms. Card is not redeemable for cash or other cards; not reloadable or refundable; cannot be combined with other non-Google Play balances in your Google Wallet account, resold, exchanged or transferred for value (except as required by law). Once card is purchased, risk of loss and title for card passes to purchaser. Google Payment Corp. and its affiliates disclaim all express or implied warranties as to the Google Play card and Google Play.

Here’s how to manually opt-in to the new Google+ UI on the web

9to5Google - Google+ 2015-11-17 17-06-20

The new Google+ interface is rolling out on the web today, and if you’re anything like me, you don’t have much patience for slow rollouts. I still hadn’t been prompted to click the “Let’s go” button and get the new layout, but luckily I stumbled on a way (via Sean S) to opt myself in without any wait time. Here’s how…
Expand
Expanding
Close