YouTube and Google+ are getting a divorce

The forced marriage between YouTube and Google+ is finally coming to an end. Back in 2013, Google forced users to have a Google+ account in order to leave comments. This was done in an attempt to cut down on trolling. Many users were not happy with the change, but over time it has become not such a big deal. Today, Google announced that they are decoupling Google+ and YouTube.

New YouTube users will no longer be forced to create a Google+ account (a change that started back in Septemeber). All you’ll need to create a channel or leave a comment is a general Google account, such as the one you have for Gmail. That change will be rolling out in the coming months. Starting today the comments you make on YouTube will now appear only on YouTube, not also on Google+.

Google is doing a lot of Google+ house cleaning lately. Some people will have you believe this is so they can kill the service completely, but that’s certainly not true. Google+ will remain its own entity without so many connections to outside Google services. That’s good for people who like Google+ and people who don’t.

[via YouTube Blog ]