Getty Images
Google GOOGL -1.34% took a big step away from competing directly with Facebook FB -1.42% in social networking.
Sometime in early September, Google stopped requiring people to create a Google+ profile while signing up for other accounts such as Gmail. The requirement had been part of a big push by Google to build a major challenger to Facebook, but the number of people visiting and sharing content on Google+ always lagged behind engagement on Facebook.



There are still some actions that require a Google+ profile, such as commenting on YouTube videos or writing reviews on Google’s local business listings, a spokeswoman said Monday. These are largely actions that involve sharing with the public. Creating a Calendar event or a Drive account to store files, for example, no longer requires a Google+ profile.
In April, Vic Gundotra stepped down as head of Google+ and left the company, while some other top employees at the social network left more recently, sparking speculation that the company may eventually shutter the service.
Google may have dropped the Google+ sign-up requirement because it was deterring people from signing up for other services, said Gianluca Fiorelli, a consultant who specializes in search-engine optimization.
“It’s more strategically important for Google to have people sign up for any type of account so it can track them,” he added. “The Google+ requirement was probably getting in the way of this.” Plus, Google now has other ways beyond a Google+ profile to confirm a person’s identity now, such as sign-ins to access some Android services or the Google Play app store, Fiorelli said.
The Google spokeswoman declined to comment further, beyond stressing that “Google isn’t giving up on Google+.”