Completely private Google+ profiles to be deleted 31 July


6 Jul 2011

Google will be deleting private Google+ profiles after 31 July, requiring all users to keep at least their name and gender public.

Search Engine Land reports Google changed its privacy policy as the company says the purpose of its profiles is to connect people with each other online.

“The purpose of Google Profiles is to enable you to manage your online identity. Today, nearly all Google Profiles are public. We believe that using Google Profiles to help people find and connect with you online is how the product is best used. Private profiles don’t allow this, so we have decided to require all profiles to be public,” Google wrote.

“Keep in mind that your full name and gender are the only required information that will be displayed on your profile; you’ll be able to edit or remove any other information that you don’t want to share.

“If you currently have a private profile but you do not wish to make your profile public, you can delete your profile. Or, you can simply do nothing. All private profiles will be deleted after July 31, 2011,” the company wrote.

Users can still hide their profile from search results by editing the search visibility option in their account settings. The Circles feature lets users choose which people they share content with.

Users can also view their profile as others would see it, within their account settings, in order to discover how much they are sharing about themselves.