Google is breaking up its struggling social network Google+
The announcement comes just as reports have suggested Google would make such a move.
Here's what Horowitz wrote in his post:
Just wanted to confirm that the rumors are true -- I'm excited to be running Google's Photos and Streams products! It's important to me that these changes are properly understood to be positive improvements to both our products and how they reach users.
Rumors that Google would break up its social network have been circulating for almost a year since Vic Gundotra, who previously oversaw Google+, announced he was leaving the company last April.
Horowitz's post also confirms reports we've heard from Bloomberg and TechCrunch over the last several months. Sundar Pichai, Google's senior vice president of Chrome, Android, and apps, hinted as much when speaking to Forbes last week.
"I think increasingly you'll see us focus on communications, photos and the Google+ Stream as three important areas, rather than being thought of as one area," Pichai said to Forbes.
The move isn't necessarily surprising either. Over the course of its four years of existence, Google+ hasn't really proven to be as popular as platforms like Facebook. It serves more as a means of keeping you logged into your Google account when using the Chrome browser.
Google+'s photo platform has proven to be pretty useful for those who actually use it, though, which means it has a chance at succeeding as a standalone product. Google+ stores all of your photos in virtual albums that are automatically organized and edited by Google's algorithms, as Business Insider's Steve Kovach pointed out.
- I'm an interior designer. Here are 10 things in your living room you should get rid of.
- Higher-paid employees looking for work are having a tough time, and it could be a sign of a shift in the workplace
- A software engineer shares the résumé he's used since college that got him a $500,000 job at Meta — plus offers at TikTok and LinkedIn
- The Role of AI in Journalism
- 10 incredible Indian destinations for family summer holidays in 2024
- 7 scenic Indian villages perfect for May escapes
- Paneer snacks you can prepare in 30 minutes
- Markets crash: Investors' wealth erodes by ₹2.25 lakh crore