Google+ facts for kids
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Type of site
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| Available in | Multilingual |
| Predecessor(s) |
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| Successor(s) | Google Hangouts (2013–present) |
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| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Required; no longer available |
| Users | 111 milliona (2015) |
| Launched | April 28, 2008 |
| Current status | Closed on April 2, 2019 |
| Written in | Java, JavaScript |
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Google+ was a social media website. It was owned and run by Google. Google+ started testing on April 28, 2008, for a small group of people. Later, on July 3, 2015, people with accounts could invite their friends. This invitation system stopped quickly because too many people wanted to join.
Google+ was designed to work with other Google services. These included Google Profiles and Google Buzz. It also had special features like Circles, Hangouts, Sparks, and Huddles. Many people thought Google+ was Google's biggest try to compete with Facebook.
On October 8, 2018, Google announced that Google+ would close. This was due to a software bug. The bug allowed some people to see the private information of many users. Google first planned to close it by August 2019. But after finding another bug, they moved the closing date to April 2, 2019.
Contents
How Google+ Grew
On July 14, 2011, Google shared some exciting news. Google+ had reached 10 million users. This happened just two weeks after it opened for invitations. After three weeks, it had grown to 20 million users.
The Google+ iPhone app also became very popular. It was the most downloaded free app in the Apple App Store. This happened less than a day after it was added.
Key Features of Google+
Google+ had several unique features. These features helped users connect and share information.
Circles for Organizing Friends
- Circles let users put their contacts into different groups. For example, you could have a "Family" circle or a "School Friends" circle. This made it easy to share specific things with certain groups of people.
Messaging for Easy Communication
- Messaging allowed people to chat with their circles. You could use this feature on Android phones, iPhones, and even through SMS messages.
Hangouts for Group Video Chats
- Hangouts were special places for group video chats. You could start a video call with anyone in your circles. It was a way to see and talk to multiple friends at once.
Instant Upload for Photos and Videos
- Instant Upload was a helpful feature for smartphone users. If you had an Android phone, you could automatically upload photos and videos. These would go into a private album. You could then choose to share them later.
Sparks for Discovering Topics
- Sparks used Google Search to help users find interesting topics. It would suggest things you might like. You could then share these topics with your circles.
Streams for Seeing Updates
- Streams showed users updates from their circles. It was similar to a "news feed" on other social media sites. You could see what your friends were sharing and talking about.
- Ripples was a cool tool that showed how public posts were shared. It created a visual map. You could see who shared a post and who shared it after them.
See also
In Spanish: Google+ para niños
