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Google+ Accounts Now Used for Play Store Reviews

saptech said:
I don't use FB (yuck)!
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My feelings exactly. When I signed up for FB years ago, I couldn't stand using it. From a programmer's perspective, its interface was clunky and non-intuitive, and all I could think about was "I'd change this, I'd change that." But, alas, I had no control over their programming. :eek:

Then I started finding out about the outrageous, covert sharing of its users' private/personal data, and that was that. I deleted my account and never looked back.
 
KENNECTED said:
I haven't made a review since the change
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Stuntman said:
I stopped reviewing apps in protest as well.
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Same here.

No, I have nothing to hide. I don't want or need to hide behind some anonymous name so I can rant and rave and leave nasty reviews. :rolleyes:

I'm a top reviewer on Amazon with a 98% helpful rating. I don't post reviews just for the fun of bashing someone/something. I actually think out whatever it is and post a thoughtful review; if the product deserves criticism, I write that, but my critical comments are far outweighed by my positive comments. And even when I do criticize something/someone, I do it nicely and respectfully. :) No, really, I know there are REAL people behind the products, and it's not my intent to hurt or embarrass them, but rather to inform them of whatever problems/shortcomings I may have encountered.

So forget about wanting to post nasty reviews while hiding in anonymity.

The thing is, I want to have the right/ability to control when/where something I post with any given account shows up. If I'm posting a review in the Android market, that's as far as it should go. I don't WANT my G+ account associated with my reviews for Android apps. It's not that I'm embarrassed or worried or anything. I simply do not WANT that association and its possible long-term ramifications--and I think it's perfectly reasonable that that should be my choice.
 
kct1975 said:
There are those of us who are prohibited from using social networking sites because of the terms of employment of either a former job or a current job.

Even if I created a fake G+ account or fake Facebook account, I would still be in violation of my terms of employment.
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I agree forcing anything like social networks on users is bad, like when you couldn't create a Spotify account without a Facebook account. However, what you write above I find very hard to believe would stand in any court in western world. On working hours, yes but on your free time, never.

FWIW, I also did a trial review. It shows my name but nothing in my stream which I guess is ok by me. Not preferred but I guess it makes other reviews more trustworthy in my eyes.
 
If you are using a company issued phone you can be barred from using social networking on the phone even in your own time. On your own phone, no, they have no say. But with some companies demanding access to your social accounts, you could still have trouble. Some companies also demand you have a social account.

2 states just passed laws making this illegal. A school or company cannot ask for access to a private account.

I still think Google is doing this to one-up FB.
 
MoodyBlues said:
The thing is, I want to have the right/ability to control when/where something I post with any given account shows up. If I'm posting a review in the Android market, that's as far as it should go.
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Maybe you didn't read my post above? Maybe it was too long?

If you post an app review on the Play store it will NOT be posted to your G+ account.

If you post an app review on the Play store it will NOT be posted to your G+ account.

So, your concern was that it not go any farther than the Play store, and guess what... IT DOESN'T! Woot!

If you never post anything on Google+ (which is separate from what you post in the Play store) then there will be nothing there for anyone to see.

To all of you complaining about being forced to use Google+ I'll say it again (and after that I assume you're just trolling if you keep spouting misleading info)... YOU NEVER HAVE TO USE IT, EVEN IF YOU POST A REVIEW IN THE PLAY STORE.

To add a little perspective, this is like people complaining that their car came with a radio, because they don't like radio, they just want to listen to an MP3 player connected via bluetooth. You can still use your MP3 player, and you will NEVER need to use your radio.
 
mjschmidt said:
Maybe you didn't read my post above? Maybe it was too long?

If you post an app review on the Play store it will NOT be posted to your G+ account.

If you post an app review on the Play store it will NOT be posted to your G+ account.

So, your concern was that it not go any farther than the Play store, and guess what... IT DOESN'T! Woot!
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Maybe I worded it poorly. But I thought I was pretty clear that I don't want any ASSOCIATION between my G+ account and reviews I post in Android's market. The mere *FACT* that posting reviews in Android's market requires you use your G+ account means there *IS* an association between the two.

To all of you complaining about being forced to use Google+ I'll say it again (and after that I assume you're just trolling if you keep spouting misleading info)... YOU NEVER HAVE TO USE IT, EVEN IF YOU POST A REVIEW IN THE PLAY STORE.
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Then I guess I'm just missing something! Because the most recent times I started to write a review for an Android app, I was *REQUIRED* to have a G+ account in order to post. But you're saying that's not true. Okay...

Oh, wait! The Android play store is confused about this, too! :eek:

Look, this is what just came up when I tried to post a review:

"Google Play reviews now use Google+ so it
 
zuben el genub said:
But with some companies demanding access to your social accounts, you could still have trouble. Some companies also demand you have a social account.

2 states just passed laws making this illegal. A school or company cannot ask for access to a private account.
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I just read about that. I had no idea they would have right to do that in US in the first place. Well, this time the change is for better in those states ;)
 
Moody Blues, you have misunderstood.

They mean, by being linked, that if you click on the name link from your App review in the Play Store it will open your Google+ Profile page. That's what they mean.

If you post a review in the play store, it will NOT appear in your Google+ profile.

I know this, because I tested it. Just like I wrote in my first post here.

Anyone here can test it. Post a review, then go to Google+ and see if it shows up.

Yes, reviews are linked to Google+.

No, they do not appear on Google+.

If you never post anything on Google+, people who click on your name from the app review link will not see anything!

That fact that the G+ account exists does not force you to use it.

The ONLY difference between now, and previous to this change, is that it will now use the name that is linked to your GOOGLE account... NOT to your Google+ account, but your GOOGLE account (ie. Gmail) because that is where Google+ will get the name... from your Gmail account.
 
Doesn't Google automatically create a Google+ account for everyone who has a Gmail account? It uses all the same details and data, like mjschmidt has said, there is no requirement to actually use g+, essentially, when leaving a review, all it is doing is linking that review to your current account that you are logged in on?

If you want complete annonominoty(sp?) Create a new account, and download new apps from it, to leave feedback. It will mean you have to add two accounts every time you reset or change phones etc, but if that's what you want!

It's not like Google force you to pay for things, you don't like it, you don't use it....if you wanna leave the developer feedback, email them!?
 
zuben el genub said:
Isn't agreeing to the TOS the same as a contract? MS and some other companies think so. If the TOS is binding on users, then it's binding on the company.
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Isn't part of their TOS a provision that lets them change it from time to time? Besides, what do they care . . . few people compared to the whole actually read the TOS/EULA. They click "yes" so they can get in and get going.
 
xelanor said:
I hate google+ and gmail it has to be integrated in every single one of googles new websites or services..
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Well, there's always iPhone or Windows Phone. ;-) of course those are both eco-systems as well, just like Android & Google have become.

You can use an Android device without a Gmail account. It just means you will need to side-load all your apps.
 
Hi

Have some application developers noticed a decline in amount of reviews they received since this change? I assume some does, I would like to know how big is this decline.
 
KENNECTED said:
Why Don't you like it? Is it that you feel you can't say what you really want to say?

I don't understand the issue. You're just validating the review, just as you would on any other part of google.
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Because I do not want to be a member of a social networking site, so why should I be forced to join one just to review an app?
 
kct1975 said:
I also completely agree!

I too, have no use for Social Networking at all. I have never used Facebook, nor My Space, nor Twitter. And I will not use Google +!

I believe forcing people to have a G+ account to rate app, not only hurts users like us, but also hurt devlopers.

Just to keep my YouTube account, I actually had to go through the BS of signing up for a Google+ account, signing into my YouTube account, changing the setting in my YouTube account, and the deleting the Google+ account.

While I love my Android phone and my Gmail account, if Google forces me to have a Google+ account to have to use them, the I will stop using my Gmail account, and switch to a Windows Phone.
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I have been looking into the very same for a while now. Firstly I looked at an iPhone, but I refuse to pay
 
JAy3001 said:
Because I do not want to be a member of a social networking site, so why should I be forced to join one just to review an app?
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You do not really have to be "a member". I know it irritated people back when Spotify required a Facebook account but eventually they created dummy accounts to get around it. If you are in Android, you probably have Gmail already and G+ is just few clicks away. Do not add picture, connect to no people, keep it hidden and essentially you are not a member of a social network.
 
JAy3001 said:
Because I do not want to be a member of a social networking site, so why should I be forced to join one just to review an app?
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No one is forcing you to use it. It's basically a "profile" page as part of the Android/Google eco-system.

Think of it this way... do you have a job? Do they deduct taxes from your paycheque? Guess what, you're part of a social network, even if you never use the services paid for with your taxes.

Or do you not pay taxes?
 
My irritation with this is very simple:
I just don't WANT the "extra baggage" of a G+ account.

I am fine with the Play store knowing exactly who I am when I post a review.
I even have a FB account which I use very infrequently to KIT with people in different states and usually only sign on when I get an email.

I just don't WANT or NEED another social networking account. Even having something sitting there unused bothers me in general. OCD, idk.

It's just dumb...I can't even think of a good analogy it's so dumb. Maybe like saying I MUST have a Turbo Tax account in order to sign on to my local bank's website or something. I have another way of doing my taxes, don't want a Turbo Tax account!!!

Yeah, no more reviews from me which is a shame because I used to try and provide helpful/objective reviews. Bad move.
 
Sorry, I still do not agree with having to use g+ just to review apps. What is the point in having 100's or 1000's of empty or dead g+ accounts?

But there is no point it talking about this as this is what Google wants and that's what they get. On a side note, as I setup my new phone it even prompted me to create a g+ account as I retrieved my Gmail account.
 
The point is Google gets to pad their stats to make Google+ look popular vs Facebook, even if people aren't actually using their account.
 
Sadly the devs lose out. I'm holding back my ratings and telling the devs sorry and why via email/site. If enough resist and tell the devs they will raise hell
 
Gmash said:
The point is Google gets to pad their stats to make Google+ look popular vs Facebook, even if people aren't actually using their account.
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That's a bit contradictory, isn't it? If you create a G+ account to write reviews, you are actually using it, not just a part of some padding.

I see it more like your profile page in whole Google system, not as something that requires you to link to people and chat with them. Now is it good to force real name use, that's debatable.
 
Okay, I'm still seeing some people here who don't quite understand how this works.

You do NOT have to create a Google+ account to leave reviews. The fact is, when you have a Google account for Android, by default a Google+ account is created for you. What's happening now is that your reviews are being linked to that account.

So what you are failing to realize is that even if you never leave another review in the play store, YOU STILL HAVE A GOOGLE+ ACCOUNT!

As long as you are using an Android device with a Google Account (ie. Gmail) you also, BY DEFAULT, have a Google+ profile page.

You can delete your Google+ account, however it is not clear whether or not this just deletes content you have posted to Google+, but leaves the "profile", or if it deletes your profile page as well.

You also have the option of deleting your Google Profile, but I have no idea how this will affect any other Google products you use, or even how it will affect the use of your Android device.

To get there, log in to Gmail. Go to your account settings (See your account name/icon in the top right corner? Click on your icon, then click on Account). > From the Account Overview page click on Google+ from the menu on the left side. > Scroll down to the bottom and you will see a section called "Disable Google+".

Again, you will have two options, deleting Google+ content, or your Google profile, and I have NO idea what that will do to your other products. You have been warned.

Once more, to those of you saying you won't leave reviews because you don't want to have a Google+ account... even if you never leave another review, you still have a Google+ profile page.
 
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