Google Has Finally Stopped Forcing Users To Have A Google+ Account For Gmail

Google used to require its users to make a Google+ profile to be able to create a Gmail account. But now, Google is quietly allowing its users to opt out of Google+.

If you sign up for a new Gmail account today, you can say "No thanks" to Google+. However, opting out means you won't have access to certain features. You can't rate apps on the Google Play Store or comment on YouTube.

MarketingLand first reported the news last week after seeing it in a post on WordStream, a marketing blog.

A Google spokesperson later confirmed the changes to WordStream blogger Larry Kim, stating: "We updated the signup experience in early September. Users can now create a public profile during signup, or later, if and when they share public content for the first time (like a restaurant review, YouTube video or Google+ post)."

Google has been easing up on its policies surrounding Google+ over the last several months. It all started in April, when Vic Gundotra, the man responsible for having built Google+, left the company after eight years.

In July, Google made Hangouts, its video-conference feature, more accessible by letting all Google Apps customers use it, regardless of whether they had a Google+ account.

In August, Business Insider's Lisa Eadicicco reported that Google planned to separate its Photos service from Google+.

Allowing users to opt out of Google+ is the latest step in Google loosening its grasp on the social network. Previously, Google+ accounts had been mandatory for new users since January 2012.