Google will start deleting Google+ accounts and pages on April 2nd (GOOG, GOOGL)

• On Wednesday, Google announced its consumer version of Google+ will officially shut down on April 2.
• On that date, Google+ accounts and pages will become inaccessible to users and content, including photos and videos from Album Archives, will begin to be deleted. Google says the deletion process may take some time.
• Google has encouraged users to download and save their content before it is deleted. 

The end of Google+ is drawing nearer. 

On Wednesday, Google announced its consumer version of Google+ will officially shut down on April 2.

On that date, Google+ accounts and pages will become inaccessible to users. At that point, content on Google+, including photos and videos from Album Archives, will begin to be deleted. Also, as soon as February 4, users will not be able to create new Google+ profiles, pages, communities or events. 

To gear up for the April 2 closer, Google has encouraged users to download and save their content before it is deleted. Android Police has recommended a download tool called the Google+ Exporter for power users of the social network. 

Read more: Here's how to quickly check if you have a Google+ account, and delete it

Google had announced last December that Google+ for consumers would be shut down in April, but it had not provided a definite date. 

At the time, Google cited "challenges involved in maintaining a successful product" and the "platform’s low usage" as reasons for shuttering the service. The company reiterated this messaging in its announcement on Wednesday. 

Last October, The Wall Street Journal revealed that data from 500,000 Google+ users had been exposed over a three year period, but the company had decided to keep quiet on the matter.

Two months later, Google announced that more than 52 million Google+ users had been affected by another bug which exposed personal information including names, email addresses, occupations, and ages. This issue prompted the company to expedite the shut down of its consumer product, moving it from August 2019 to April 2019. 

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