Google Will No Longer Force Users To Sign Up To Google+

New users of Google’s Gmail service will no longer be forced to sign up for the search engine giant’s Google+ social network following a change in the service’s guidelines.

Going forward, anyone signing up to start using of the company’s email service will be able to skip the current step in the registration process which prompts users to also set up a Google+ account.

Previously, users had no choice in this, meaning many were saddled with an account they did not want or use, but was necessary to fully experience many of Google’s other services, such as YouTube and Hangouts.

Join the club?

Anyone wishing to sign up for Google+ can still do so, however, joining the 540m current registered users on the site, which was launched in June 2011.

There has been no official word from Google on the change, but the news is the latest setback for the company’s fledgling social network.

Google came under fire last November for linking YouTube comments to Google+, saying that users of the video sharing site had to sign up for social network, thereby linking the YouTube account to the user’s actual identity.

However following a user outcry, (including a petition on Change.org), the company backed down.

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