10 services Google killed in 2013

Google is widely considered to be one of the most innovative companies in the world today. But did you know that the company behind internet balloons and ultrafast web also killed off a large number of services this year? 

Here is a list of 10 services that Google shut down in 2013

iGoogle

iGoogle allowed users to create a personalized home page whenever they opened the website. The company says that the need of such a service has decreased due to the exponential growth of apps that run on Android and Chrome.

Google Reader

In March, Google announced that it is shutting down Reader, a popular RSS feed aggregator, citing declining usage. However, this move faced severe criticism from netizens and an online petition against killing Reader garnered over 1,00,000 signatures. Nevertheless, Google went ahead and killed the product in July this year.

Latitude

A location-based service, Google Latitude also met its end in 2013. It was a part of Google Maps and allowed users to track and share their location on the online mapping service via mobile phones. Google killed it in August this year and integrated it with Google+, its social networking platform. However, it cannot be used on BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and S60 platforms as Google has not created the Maps app for them.

Google Sync (consumer version)

Google Sync allows users to synchronize their Gmail, Calendar and Contacts via Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync. Though the enterprise version of the service still works, Google Sync for new consumers is not available since January. It was killed because Google’s CardDAV service does the same thing. While you cannot set up new devices via Google Sync, devices that already use it continue to work seamlessly.

Cloud Connect

As of April 2013, Cloud Connect service, which allowed users to save Microsoft Office files from their PC to Google Drive, was retired. The reason? Google Drive for desktops does the same thing and works not just on Windows but also Mac, iOS and Android platforms.

Google+ Local for mobile apps

First known as Places, Google+ Local is a rival to websites like TimesCity and Zomato, just on the social platform. Though Local is still a part of the company’s social networking website, it has been removed from the apps. Despite the discontinuation, all of its data is available in Google Maps app

Google Shopper app

Google shut down the Shopper app for both Android and iOS platforms in August this year. Instead, users can now head to Google Search app or google.com/shopping URL on their mobile web browsers to find the requisite product information. Google says this has been done to streamline the product shopping experience across all devices

Google Catalogs

Google Catalogs, an Android and iPad app to browse through product catalogues of various companies bit the dust in August. It did not gain much traction among users even after 18 months of its launch. Though the app has been retired, product listings can still be accessed via its website.

Building Maker

Building Maker was the company’s online tool to create 3D models for Google Earth and Maps. It met its demise in June this year and users were allowed to export the models they created using the tool from its 3D Warehouse. Google still has other tools in the Maps and Earth applications to create 3D renders.