Google drops Google+ account requirement for Gmail users

Gmail users were required to have a Google+ account with their name on it.  It was made mandatory by Google to have a Google+ account for Gmail users but the tech company has waived this requirement and users can now opt out using a "No Thanks" button, reports said.

Google's social network was launched to take on Facebook. However, unlike its Orkut, Google+  turned out to be a dud for the company, with little popularity among users. But, despite a low voluntary signup rate, Google continued to create Google+ accounts for all users who signed on for a specific service like say, Gmail, or Drive, and users had no say in the matter.

The sign of a way out signals a more relaxed attitude towards its social network from Google, which had had tepid response to Google+. Google, earlier this year, lifted a restriction from Google+ under which users were required to put in their real names on their Google+ page.

The company took over Google+ Photos last month, in a bid to make the photo sharing and editing strengths of the ailing social network available to users that did not have Google+ access.

Google+ had witnessed a downtrend this year with Google+ head Vic Gundotra's departure from the company.

However, users who want to use Google's other services, like YouTube or the Google Play Store,  would still need to create one for the time being.

Some would see this change as additional pointer to the possibility that Google was de-emphasizing (or even preparing to pull the plug on) its three-year-old social network, PC Mag reported.

That was the popular speculation in April following Vic Gundotra, godfather of Google+, calling it quits in April. Later, Google removed the display of Google+ authorship information from search results last month according to Martin Beck in Marketing Land.

Beck says, however, that in his opinion Google would continue making subtle changes to the service, making improvements to popular Google+ products like Hangouts and Hangouts on Air or even spinning off its excellent photo product so people without Google+ accounts could use it.

According to commentators, it was also highly doubtful if the service would ever become as integral to one's digital lifestyle as, say, Facebook, Twitter, or the lot.