Google Plus is one of the most widely used social networking websites today, what with Google trying to push it by integrating it with most other Google services. In this post, we will talk about Google Plus Sign Up, Login, and how to Sign In securely. Google Plug Login comes with the protections and safeguards that make you feel safer and more comfortable at using it.
Google Plus Login & Sign Up
To sign up for Google Plus is pretty simple, safe and secure. All you need to open a Google Plus account is an internet connection and an email account set up and ready to send and receive emails. If you have a Google account you can directly sign in to Google Plus and if not, you can always create one. Simply visit Google Plus website and sign up by filling in your details.
Once you have an account on Google Plus, the first thing you need to do is to adjust your Google Plus Privacy and Security Settings. Google keeps on updating its social network and thus there are many settings that you may not have been aware of before. You might want to also create a Google Plus Vanity URL for your profile, within its Settings.
Google Plus and its privacy settings are focused on Google Circles which is actually a mode of organizing your contacts. While most of Google Plus’s privacy settings are quite apparent, there are some settings which not so obvious.
Here are some important security tips on how you can use the impeccable security and privacy options offered by Google Plus to make your experience a safe one:
Increase your privacy by restricting your visibility
You can restrict your visibility in searches to increase your privacy. Go to ‘Settings’ from left pane on your Google Plus page and under ‘Profile’ section and uncheck on tab ‘Help others discover my profile in search results.’ From this section you can also choose which of your Profile tabs are visible to others. You can choose if your ‘Photos’, ‘Videos’, ‘+1’ and ‘Reviews’ are visible to others.
This section in Google Plus security settings also allows you to restrict your private message stream. Although Google Plus doesn’t include conventional inbox/sent box email format like Facebook and Twitter but people in your circle can always message you by making a stream post on your profile. From the tab, ‘Allow people to send you a message from your profile’ you can select who can send you a message or start a thread with you.
Restrict Visibility of your shares with your Google+ Circles
Restricting the visibility of your Google+ circle is best way to increase the privacy in Google Plus.
You can create your G+ circles with different names like- family, friends, acquaintances, classmates; colleagues etc. and share your information with the circle you want to. When you share a post on G+, you can select a limited audience by selecting specific circles.
Choose who to share your personal information with
Sign in to your Google+ account and go to ‘Profile’ from the left pane.
Click the ‘About’ and you’ll see boxes containing your details. Click the Edit link at the bottom of any box you want to edit settings for. It will open a pop-up where you can select who can see your information from a dropdown menu. You can select among “Extended circles,” “Public,” or “Your circles”.
Know what to share publicly
Remember when you share something publicly on Google Plus it gets indexed on Google and world can find it through search.
Select the circles you want to share your post with. You can also disable the ‘reshare’ for any of your shares. Click on the small arrow on top right of your post and select ‘Disable Reshare’ from the drop-down list.
Select which of your Google+ circles can Hangout with you
You can enable specific circles to start a Google Plus Hangout with you. Open Hangouts on right pane of your G+ page and click on the menu at top->Click on Customize New Invitations and choose the settings you prefer. Click Save before you exit. You can always start a hangout with only a specific person, group of people or specific circle if you want it to be private. You can also add/invite more people in your hangout to create a group hangout
Restrict your contacts to view or download your photos
From the Settings tab in the left pane you can adjust the settings for your photos on G+. Go to ‘Photos and videos’ section in ‘Settings’ page and uncheck on ‘Allow viewers to download my photos and videos’. Also protect the privacy of your Drive photos and videos by un-checking ‘Show Drive photos and videos in your photo library’. You can also prevent Google from displaying your Name, Image in Ads & Clear Synced data in Chrome.
Last but not the least, you can always block the problematic users from your profile.
Google Plus Sign In & Security Settings for Windows Phone Users
Manage Location Settings
You can always turn Location Sharing ON or OFF on your Smartphone. Go to the Google+ application on your Smartphone Menu Settings, Select Location sharing and turn it ON or OFF. You can change the settings for both your pinpoint location and city-level location.
Disable Instant Photos Upload
The instant upload feature is by default turned ON in most of the Windows Phones. This feature uploads you photos on Picassa Web and Google Plus as you click it. Although it is not as scary as it sounds because the photos are uploaded in a private folder and not shared publicly, but you may want to be careful with the “Instant Upload” feature. You may not want to integrate all your photos into Google+.
Well, these were a few of Google Plus tips which every user must follow to keep their online privacy intact. Google keeps on updating its safety features and you should often check the ‘Settings’ section of your Google+ account to make sure that you haven’t selected something you would have better been opted out of.
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