If you want a Gmail account and nothing else, that's OK now

Sep 20, 2014 19:40 GMT  ·  By

Google is taking some interesting steps these days and one in particular is going to make users quite happy because those who create new accounts will no longer be forced to also create a Google+ account when setting up Gmail.

While the option is still there and Google invites users to create a Google+ profile, which will “help make Google better for everyone by contributing restaurant reviews, videos on YouTube, and ratings for apps, books, and movies in the Play store,” you’ll no longer be forced to put up together the account, Marketing Land reports.

You can click the “Create your profile” button or choose the “No thanks” one to move on without the troubles of having a Google+ account. Up until now, those who simply wanted to use Gmail would just go about ignoring the fact that they have an account on Google’s social network, but things will be even easier for those who want the simpler experience.

A little distance from Google+

The move comes after an effort from Google to stop forcing their Google+ network on users of their other products. For instance, a while back, news that YouTube would only accept comments backed by a Google+ account caused quite a bit of uproar and backlash from users.

Even though the company said it hoped that by making everyone use their real names would lower the amount of trolling and bullying on the platform since people are less likely to act badly when their true names are exposed, the move didn’t make many people happy.

Google later stopped forcing Google+ users to use their real names, which caused an ease of the tension between users and the Internet giant.

It seems, however, that Google’s devotion to the Google+ project is fading. The company was late for the social media game and didn’t really deliver a product that made people want to use it over Facebook or Twitter.

Vic Gundotra, the Google+ boss that had led the social media site since its beginning, chose to leave the company back in April, which took many people by surprise, especially since he seemed to be a permanent fixture for the Mountain View company.

It should be interesting to see where Google takes its product from here on out. It’s unlikely that the service will be shut down since it has some 300 million users viewing and posting every month, but they’re likely to start separating it from other Google products or, at the very least, lower the reliance level between Google+ and the rest of the portfolio.