#private profiles

How To Make Your Profile Private! Find more Tutorials here.

Song is “Car Wash” by Rose Royce

Starting on July 31st , Google has decided to delete, not change to public, all private profiles on Google+ in efforts to expand its user base. The reasoning used behind this is that private profiles defeat the purpose of having an online existence, which is used to connect with friends, family, and networking. 

Google+ states in its help articles that:

“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.

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.”

 Facebook made a similar motion last year with a change its privacy policy. Non friends can still view your name, gender, and profile picture in a search even on the most private settings.

This may be a concern to those who still wish to have private or unsearchable profiles.  Google+ counters this issue with the use of Circles, option of limited posts, ability to delete your profile and data associate with your profile.  You can also control your Google search visibility with an option located at the bottom of your profile. Google+ profile requires your name and gender only, to help your friends find you easier.