Google+

Google's Facebook killer that conscripted hundreds of millions of YouTube and Gmail users into a social network where they spent an average of five seconds before leaving.

† 2011 – 2019Killed by parent Died in 2019

Born

2011

Died

2019

Lifespan

8 years

Cause of Death

Killed by parent

What Happened

Google+ launched in June 2011 as Google's fourth major attempt at social after Orkut, Buzz, and Wave. It introduced Circles, Hangouts, and a clean Facebook-style feed. Tech press gave it glowing early reviews, and Google poured engineering and marketing resources behind it.

To juice signups, Google forced YouTube, Gmail, and Google account users into Google+ identities between 2012 and 2014. On paper, it hit hundreds of millions of accounts. In reality, engagement was anemic. Users saw Google+ as an unwelcome layer on top of products they actually liked.

Vic Gundotra, the executive who championed Google+, left in April 2014. YouTube comments decoupled from Google+ in 2015. The product was quietly reorganized into Streams, Photos, and Hangouts, all pulled out as separate services. What remained of Google+ limped along.

In October 2018, the Wall Street Journal revealed a data exposure bug affecting up to 500,000 users — one Google had known about and not disclosed. Within days Google announced Google+ would shut down, and on April 2, 2019, the consumer version went dark. In the same shutdown post, Google admitted 90% of user sessions lasted less than five seconds.

“The consumer version of Google+ currently has low usage and engagement: 90 percent of Google+ user sessions are less than five seconds.”

— Ben Smith, Google Fellow and VP of Engineering, October 8, 2018

Last Words — Official Shutdown Notice

“On April 2nd, 2019 we will shut down consumer Google+. You can expect the sunset of all remaining Google+ APIs during this time as well.”