Products · Product
Google+
Raised as a usability problem by 421 people on Hacker News over 16 years (2011–2026), in 266 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads in the last 5 years.
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- 4Interface feels slow to interact withUnreviewed
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Every issue, all time, most people first
Repeated sign-up prompts push users into accounts they don't wantUnreviewed
20112026- Google+ was forced into links and pages, so visitors got signed up without choosing it2025-11-30
- Users were tricked into activating Google+ without choosing it2024-11-07
- Forced integration of other Google services into Google+ made them harder to use2019-01-31
Circles is too difficult for most people to set up and maintainUnreviewed
20112026- Circles model was confusing and unintuitive, users didn't understand how it worked2023-07-06
- Had to sort every contact into circles, which was too much effort2019-06-20
- Users didn't understand what circles were, and the frontend was painful to use2019-06-20
Clicking around unintentionally creates a separate account unlinked from YouTubeUnreviewed
20112026- YouTube constantly pushed users to convert accounts into Google+ accounts2023-07-06
- Forced to consent to a Google+ profile to comment on YouTube, with constant full-screen prompts2019-06-20
- Google+ profile kept stale data and didn't sync YouTube banner or details2018-10-09
Interface feels slow to interact withUnreviewed
20112026- Interface was slow and confusing, putting people off using it2019-06-20
- Interface feels slow to interact with2019-06-20
- Interface felt slow and sluggish because of animations2019-03-28
Notifications show up constantly with no easy way to stop themUnreviewed
20112026- Gmail badge and push notifications filled with Google+ invites users didn't want, no control2026-04-27
- Got a notification whenever a Gmail contact joined or added you, with no way to turn it off2022-08-04
- Flood of irrelevant notifications from strangers, with no way to silence them for months2019-06-20
Multi-column card layout makes posts hard to read in chronological orderUnreviewed
20112026- Two-column feed layout is hard to parse compared with a single narrow column2019-06-20
- Multiple columns instead of one scrolling stream, which goes against what people expect2019-03-29
- Scrolling up and down to read items across two columns is tedious2015-11-18
Users must know who wanted to see each post, making sharing hardUnreviewed
20112026- Sharing settings are overly complicated, and posts end up public by default2022-05-23
- Confusing to tell who can see what posts, stopping the user from posting2019-03-28
- Sharing configuration is unintuitive; users can't tell what is shared and with whom because states contradict2018-12-11
Photos make accompanying text hard to notice, and text hard to read aloneUnreviewed
20112026- Huge pictures with few words make posts hard to scan and understand2015-11-17
- Content is hard to read because of random blocks and images instead of text2013-07-02
- Photos make the accompanying text hard to notice; text is hard to read without photo2013-05-16
Links open in the browser instead of the app, and browser crashes on postsUnreviewed
20112026- Google+ links don't work in mobile Firefox, so users can't see the linked content2018-10-08
- Clicking public posts forces users to link a Google+ account before reading2012-12-07
- Clicking a link forces a Google+ login just to read the article2012-03-14
Invite system is not explained and does not make rational senseUnreviewed
20112026- Invitees get no email or IM and can't easily find the invite2012-06-27
- Invite windows opened and closed unpredictably, so users couldn't tell when they could invite friends2011-09-20
- Unclear whether following someone sends them an invite or notification2011-07-10
Header takes half the page on laptops, crowding out contentUnreviewed
20112026- Sticky header takes up a third of the laptop screen, making browsing horrible2025-08-15
- A header takes a third of the page and content is cramped to one third width2020-01-24
- Header takes half the page on laptops, crowding out content2013-07-10
Difficult to find and change privacy settingsUnreviewed
20112026- Privacy settings are a labyrinth the user must constantly monitor to stay configured2013-11-14
- Found it difficult to change privacy settings2013-08-21
- Must repeatedly reset privacy settings that auto-enroll users into sharing2013-05-22
Hard to find how to join a hangout without a linkUnreviewed
20112026- Can't figure out how to start a chat or hangout2015-11-19
- Can't set up a Hangout for people without Google accounts; instructions too confusing to pass on2012-08-27
- Can't figure out how to send messages or join hangouts2012-07-18
Hard to switch between multiple accounts; features require real nameUnreviewed
20112026- Can't pick an available username; forced into one Google chose, inconsistent across services2015-07-27
- Cannot set a nickname on Google+ while keeping real name for Gmail2014-07-16
- Hard to switch between multiple Google accounts; features require real name2013-04-12
Uneven block heights make it hard to scan the page in orderUnreviewed
20112026- Cards have uneven heights, so eyes cannot scan the page in an orderly way and content is hard to digest2015-11-18
- Uneven block heights make it hard to scan the page left-right in order2013-05-17
- Large gap on wide screens makes content feel crowded left and awkward to scan2012-04-11
Hard to focus on one thread; comments must be expanded individuallyUnreviewed
20112026- Flat comment threads make it hard to keep track of replies2019-06-20
- Hard to find threads and focus on one; comments must be expanded individually2015-11-18
- Impossible to find where new comments in old threads were posted2014-04-04
Chat list lost online status and half of regular contactsUnreviewed
20112026- Home page shows unwanted social feed that loads slowly, delaying access to chat2015-08-18
- Chat list lost online status and half of regular contacts, text-heavy feed became picture-heavy and sparse2013-05-16
- Chat list fills with hundreds of strangers automatically, becoming huge and unusable2012-01-12
Recipients must click the invite link several times before signing upUnreviewed
20112026- Repeatedly shows friend-invite page with no way to permanently dismiss it2013-07-23
- Recipients must click the invite link several times before signing up2011-07-06
- Learn More button loops back to the invitation required message, so the app is unusable without an invite2011-06-28
Homepage is cluttered with junk around the contentUnreviewed
20112026- Homepage doesn't explain relevance or benefit to the user2014-06-07
- Default page is a cluttered mess of content the user has no interest in2014-02-15
- Homepage is cluttered with junk around the content2013-03-08
Screen space pushes unwanted follow and chat prompts at usersUnreviewed
20112026- Chat sidebar shows few contacts and toolbars eat screen space2013-07-10
- Half the home screen is chat and nudges, forcing unwanted interaction2013-05-22
- Valuable screen space pushes unwanted follow and chat prompts at users2012-06-28
Apps account setup fails with no useful error messageUnreviewed
20112026- Can't get it to work with Apps account; no useful error message given2012-07-18
- Must sign in and post manually because other apps can't share to it2011-08-22
- Forced to join with a Gmail account, can't use Google Apps account2011-07-02
Confusing wording makes it easy to choose the wrong option by accidentUnreviewed
20112026- Repeatedly nagged to switch to real name, with no way to stop it2014-04-24
- Users with non-compliant names must invent fake names, making conversations confusing2013-11-17
- Confusing wording makes it easy to accidentally choose the wrong option, like using real name2013-07-22
Stream shows posts from strangers, with only circle filtering offeredUnreviewed
20112026- Stream shows posts from strangers, not just circles, and only circle filtering is offered2012-04-11
- Can't filter a circle's posts by topic, so unwanted posts clutter the feed2012-01-29
- Can't select more than one circle at once to filter the stream2011-07-09
Mobile web post viewing is sluggish, forcing use of the appUnreviewed
20112026- Mobile app looks poor and is terrible compared with Facebook2012-10-06
- Mobile web version is poor, with no link to open the native app2012-01-11
- Viewing posts on the mobile web is a dismal, sluggish experience, forcing an app2011-12-19
Notifications stay unread after viewing until the red square is clickedUnreviewed
20112026- Red notification counts appear but clicking them shows nothing, and the site is slow to load2012-05-23
- Small red notification square is hidden in an unnoticed place, so notifications go unseen for days2012-02-20
- Notifications stay unread after viewing until the red square is clicked2011-11-15
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Gmail badge and push notifications filled with Google+ invites users didn't want, no control2026-04-27
- Google+ was forced into links and pages, so visitors got signed up without choosing it2025-11-30
- Sticky header takes up a third of the laptop screen, making browsing horrible2025-08-15
- Users were tricked into activating Google+ without choosing it2024-11-07
- Facebook's groups feature is buried and difficult to set up2023-07-06
- YouTube constantly pushed users to convert accounts into Google+ accounts2023-07-06
- Circles model was confusing and unintuitive, users didn't understand how it worked2023-07-06
- No API, so posts had to be manually re-entered instead of auto-posted from a blog2023-03-13
- Interface was not great and felt like a walled garden to the user2023-03-10
- Terrible UI, and social activity tied to Gmail accounts2023-03-10
- Got a notification whenever a Gmail contact joined or added you, with no way to turn it off2022-08-04
- Sharing settings are overly complicated, and posts end up public by default2022-05-23
- Slow to load and hard to hold detailed discussions, with long posts awkward2021-11-18
- Must manually subscribe and unsubscribe by private message to see content2021-11-18
- Low-contrast UI elements vanish unless monitor contrast is tuned, forcing manual display adjustments2021-04-08
- Strangers from public circles get imported into contacts, cluttering autocomplete with duplicate names2021-02-02
- Hard for ordinary people to use; designed for engineers rather than the masses2020-12-19
- Light gray on lighter gray makes post boundaries and UI elements hard to see2020-12-14
- Impossible to check on mobile who signed up for a meeting2020-11-19
- Became progressively worse and more confusing over time2020-04-26
- A header takes a third of the page and content is cramped to one third width2020-01-24
- Verification link always errors out, trapping user in an authentication loop2019-11-19
- Unclear who can see posts when sharing to circles; UI slow2019-11-19
- Animated profile image pinned to top of screen, scaling to three-quarters of the window and appearing on hover cards2019-10-26
- Plus-one button also reposts content, and upvoters don't realize it2019-09-27
- Hovering the + button triggers an annoying auto popup2019-06-20
- Users didn't understand what circles were, and the frontend was painful to use2019-06-20
- Interface feels slow to interact with2019-06-20
- Forced to consent to a Google+ profile to comment on YouTube, with constant full-screen prompts2019-06-20
- Interface was slow and confusing, putting people off using it2019-06-20
- Constant unannounced changes make it hard to find things and relearn the service2019-06-20
- User found circles confusing and couldn't tell how the product was meant to be used2019-06-20
- Flat comment threads make it hard to keep track of replies2019-06-20
- Flood of irrelevant notifications from strangers, with no way to silence them for months2019-06-20
- Hard to post something on someone's wall2019-06-20
- Groups feature forced an awkward widget, and audience separation was confusing to trust2019-06-20
- Users couldn't find a person's posts or even their own posts2019-06-20
- Had to sort every contact into circles, which was too much effort2019-06-20
- Two-column feed layout is hard to parse compared with a single narrow column2019-06-20
- Multiple columns instead of one scrolling stream, which goes against what people expect2019-03-29
- Confusing to tell who can see what posts, stopping the user from posting2019-03-28
- Hard to discover functionality; bland interface lost user interest2019-03-28
- Interface felt slow and sluggish because of animations2019-03-28
- Website feels slow and bloated to interact with2019-03-28
- Endlessly frustrating, with noise, poor filters and organisation, and intrusive integrations2019-03-28
- Redesigned interface looked slick but was much worse to use2019-03-02
- Forced integration of other Google services into Google+ made them harder to use2019-01-31
- Sharing configuration is unintuitive; users can't tell what is shared and with whom because states contradict2018-12-11
- Circles is too difficult for most people to set up and maintain2018-12-10
- Google employees could not figure out how to use it2018-11-10