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Google has provided further details about its plans to sunset the consumer version of Google+.
The internet giant has revealed that all Google+ APIs and integrations will be closed down permanently on March 7, 2019. However, the closure will happen gradually, beginning January 28, which means developers (and thus users of their apps) will likely begin to encounter issues from that point on.
This move includes the Google+ Sign-in system, which will also be fully shuttered from March 7. Google is recommending that developers migrate their in-app authentication to the main Google Sign-in incarnation by the end of January.
The closure will also impact all web and mobile app integrations, including plugins, +1 buttons, and share buttons, which will all cease working on that date.
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Road to ruin
By way of a quick recap, Google launched Google+ way back in 2011 with the intention of unseating Facebook. However, that never quite happened, and the company announced back in October that it was killing Google+ after a major security vulnerability was found. The original intention was to shutter Google+ in August, 2019; however, earlier this month another security issue emerged that potentially impacted 52.5 million users, forcing the company to bring the closure date forward to April.
Google had already revealed that the Google+ APIs would be shuttered within 90 days, but developers now have a concrete date as they work to ensure all relevant Google+ code is removed from their websites and apps.
March is going to be a busy month for Google, which is pulling the plug on a number of properties that month, including messaging app Allo, its popular email app Inbox, and the Goo.gl URL shortener.
From what we can tell, Google+ will still exist for consumers until April, but with all backend functionality dead it probably won’t offer a very lively experience. It’s worth noting here that Google+ will continue to live on in the enterprise as part of G Suite.
