Google+ has had an extremely turbulent life since its inception. The social media platform is an extremely popular and vibrant area, however, a number of reports consistently made it seem as those Google could not wait to abandon its + site. The latest of these came in the build-up to Google’s annual I/O conference and the speculation behind Google releasing its newer and standalone Photo Sharing app, Google Photos. The very fact that Photos was becoming a standalone app and service led to the immediate speculation that this was another nail in the coffin of Google+, much to the dismay of all those who use the social platform.
Well, since Google IO, users have been getting to grips with Google Photos and it does seem to be both a popular and intelligent means to dealing with your photos. Now that the app is here and technically separated from Google+, the inevitability of the more formal and official severing of Google+ and Google+ Photos has been edging closer. Reports a couple of weeks ago detailed that the desktop Google+ Photos app for Chrome will soon be closing and now it seems the latest version of Google+ is reminding users that the app version of Google+ Photos will soon be decommissioned and gone for good too.
The latest update, version 5.8, brings about the prompt from Google detailing that the Google+ Photos will soon be closing and reassures its users that there is nothing for them to do, as all the photos are already backed up on the new Google Photos app. Therefore, all they have to do is physically download the new app. If you have seen the update arrive for Google+, but have not seen the new prompt, then don’t worry either. It seems the message is only being shown to those who are using the older version of the Google+ Photos app. For those who have already made the transition to the new Google Photos, the installation of the app deactivates the use of the Google+ Photos one and so you will not be seeing the message. As such, if you still are using the older Google+ Photos version and do see the message, it probably is time to start making the transition.