Google Plus Age Restriction and New Policies

Google is back with a buzz, with the news that their social networking website Google+ has lowered its age restriction from 18 to 13. It has also changed 60 privacy policies which will be in action after a month. A little about Google plus before we rip the news apart and talk about it like an insane critic, we need to look a little deeper into the website and its statistics. Google Plus or G+ was launched on June 28, 2011 as a fierce competitor of Facebook the world's largest social networking website with millions of active users on it. Ever since the launch of Google Plus it has always been compared to Facebook and every move they make will be counter checked with Facebook in mind. It's definitely not an easy road which Google has taken but since they have, they need to face the music for sure. Google Plus has done a fairly well job actually and so far has grasped over 90Million users, which is pretty much excellent.


Below is the video which was posted originally by Google, as an introduction to Google Plus.




Google Plus started off with a promising start to take over the social networking websites and be on top of the list with that respect. It groped 10Million users within the two weeks of it being launched. Now for me this is amazing and a job well done by Google. They always find a way to go along things and jump across the hurdles which they face.

What Google plus did from the start is by giving something new to the user, so that they may feel the excitement and a new energy one needs to feel about something new.

Circles is a really cool feature from Google Plus which enables the user to make friends groups with and ease. A little drag drop here and there and you are done. Circles work both ways actually, in Google Plus you can add anyone you like and they will show up on your circle and if they add you up as well, their circle will have you in it. Circles are helpful, because one can easily select the circles to which a desired post needs to be shared.

Hangouts, as the name suggests is super amazing. It's like a live webcam show, where you can invite all your friends to chit chat. Hangouts, is a must to use feature. For many it could get addictive, because the feeling of you talking about a certain topic or just a random chit chat with the people you want is amazing. I like this feature personally, as it gives a real time life like social experience.

Sparks is probably one of the very best feature that Google Plus has, its simply superb to say it right. Do you like to get the news and updates about the things you like ! then Sparks is meant for you. It's like Twitter, getting you stories from you the stuff you have liked. Lately the spark feature has been updated, the video below can be helpful to you if you can't find Sparks in Google Plus.





You can choose from various categories like technology, fashion, food, sports and much more. Below you can see a video about Sparks which has originally been uploaded by Google.

Now, let's come to the most definite feature the Google Plus Chat. You can chat with your buddies and also select which circles you want to chat with, which is very necessary as there are some people in your list with whom you don't like to chat.


There are also Games in Google Plus to play, the most joyful part of any social networking website.

Here you would find varieties of games and yes there are strategic games in which you need your friends to send you stuff in order to finish a certain task (Darn! I hate such games, no offense). There are plenty of games to choose from and here you will also see some of the big game names which are also in Facebook such as Zynga.

You can find on Youtube the individuals videos for each feature that has been given in Google Plus. Talking about the videos, one thing needs to be appreciated here is the excellent easy to understand intro to Google Plus videos Google launched. Every video which they launched for Google Plus has been kept very upbeat yet simple, giving the message in a short time span and making the viewer understand what it is all about is certainly a plus point.

Google Plus now has "Create a Page" feature as well. This enables the user to create a page for its company or of any other interest. Facebook pages are very popular among masses and big companies have a very strong fan following on those pages. Would Google Plus come as the number one choice for brand image or not is still a question, only time would see that how people respond to this feature and if they are happy to check them out as much as they do in Facebook.

Now, since we have looked into Google Plus and the features it provides, let's go in a little deeper to see Google Plus's future and exceptions from a common user's perspective. Over the time span, Google Plus has achieved many milestones which may include the following:

• Reaching millions of active users.
• Competing with Facebook at a good level.
• Giving new and exciting features.
• Easy sharing capabilities than Facebook.
• Web integration provided at a very early stage when it was launched, which was indeed a superb move to give Google Plus a kick start.
• Developing its own standards and not being termed as a copycat of Facebook.
• Fast browsing speeds and calm feel all over Google Plus.
• Providing the user almost everything it needs in a very short time. Possibly whatever you thought should be on Google Plus was there when it started.
• Not giving out loud shouts to the competitors, ethical competitor-ship shown by Google which was important.

These are just the few achievement and plus points about the social networking website. The question here is that, is there anything which Google is doing wrong or not?.  Seems like they are not doing anything wrong enough to put fingers on, Google Plus is growing slowly and the time could possibly comes up when it becomes the top social networking website. Having said that, in my opinion this would happen when people get bored or unsatisfied with Facebook and then opt to something bit same bit different and there they would see Google Plus as their saviour. With the strength that Google Plus possess with its current 90Million user base, it is only going one way up right now and its upwards.

Now, as it is mentioned on the very beginning of this article that Google Plus has lowered its registration age limit to 13+ and 14+ in some countries rather than 18+ as it was before, let's check out the after effect of this update. The age limit of Google Plus now at 13+ means two things, one is that younger kids are going to be excited because some parents don't let their young ones use Facebook because of their age, now such kids would be glad to be on their G+ with a smirk on their faces and secondly the effect of this could be huge as it would carry a lot of web news and attention to Google Plus. Good Job done by Google, seems like they always want to be in the news. Google has consulted teen safety and child safety experts before getting the age restriction down.

Having said enough, one point should be kept in mind that Google is going to default some of the options in the younger age level to keep it safe for browsing but they can be changed. This means parents need to look after their young ones and what they are giving a plus on Google Plus !.

Google has changed 60 privacy policies to their alternative shorter and simpler ones. Original message from Google says:

March 1, 2012 is when the new Privacy Policy and Terms will come into effect. If you choose to keep using Google once the change occurs, you will be doing so under the new Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

So, it would take one month for it as in whole to change. The general response for these new policies would be seen in a few days time as the news grows.