Removing the last Google+ Features from YouTube: Private shares with G+ Circles, G+ links, Mobile app

With the shutdown of Google+ on the near horizon, YouTube has announced the last few Google+-related features will be removed in February 2019.  While YouTube's breakup from Google+ was mostly complete by 2016, there were a few remaining Google+-dependent features.

• Google+ Circles will be removed from private video shares
• The option to update your channel icon and cover art in the YouTube Mobile app will be removed
• Links to Google+ profiles and pages on your channel's About tab and header will be removed
• Pre-September 2016 versions of the YouTube mobile app will no longer be able to read or post comments

What will NOT change:

• Your YouTube channel, your videos, comments and playlists will NOT be deleted
• Your YouTube channel's Brand Account will NOT be deleted
• Your verification badge from Google+ will NOT be removed

See the FAQ in the official YouTube Help Forum for details.

Watch the video for a quick overview.

 Related posts about the Google+ Shutdown:

• Create a backup of your Google+ Page
• Turn your Google+ followers into YouTube subscribers
• Blogger minus Google+: Google+ features removed beginning February 4th
• The Google navigation bar notification bell will disappear March 7th: switch to browser notifications
• Shutdown of the Google+ API: info for developers and webmasters

Read on for details about the changes and a timeline of the integration - and dis-integration - of YouTube and Google+.

Google+ Circles will be removed from private video shares

The ability to share private YouTube videos with a Google+ Circle was removed in February 2016, but  videos shared with Circles prior to that change were not affected.

Now those Google+ Circles will be removed from the list of people with access to the private video, and the people in those Circles will no longer be able to view that video. 

Currently you can only share private videos using someone's Google account email address.

You cannot update your channel icon and cover art in the YouTube mobile app

The ability to update your profile photo and channel's cover art in the mobile was apparently dependent on a system connected to Google+, so will no longer work.

Note that if your channel is on a Brand Account, you follow these steps:
1. https://myaccount.google.com/brandaccounts in your mobile browser
2. Tap your YouTube channel name to open its Brand Account Details page
3. On the Details page tap "Edit account info"

That will open the "About Me" page for your channel's Brand Account, where you can update the profile photo.

Note that you cannot update channel art on the About Me page.

And you can, of course, still update your channel icon and cover art on a desktop computer

Google+ links on your YouTube channel's About tab will be removed

YouTube will no longer support linking to a Google+ profile or page on the About tab, and the link will also be removed from the channel's cover art banner.

You can still link to other sites.

You'll no longer be able to read or post comments in old versions of the YouTube app

If your version of the YouTube mobile app hasn't been updated since before September 2016, you will no longer be able to read or post comments.

You will need to either update the app, or use the YouTube mobile site (m.youtube.com) in the browser on your device.

You can update your Google profile photo (which is used as your channel icon) at aboutme.google.com in the browser on your mobile device.

Learn more

Get more details in the YouTube Help Center: Changes to using YouTube with Google+
Questions? Post in the official YouTube Help Community

Timeline of YouTube-Google+ Integration

The integration process between YouTube and Google+ began in spring of 2012, but wasn't really complete until November 2013, when YouTube switched to Google+ commenting. The process was complicated and confusing, and alienated a lot of users.

Clearing up some of that confusion is why I started this blog in 2013.

When it was announced in July 2015 that Google+ would no longer be the social layer across Google, YouTube fairly quickly started the disconnection process, and it was possible to create a new channel - and comment - without Google+ within just a few months. Since then, the few remaining Google+-related features have been slowly removed. And now they are gone.

• June 2011: Google+ launches, is invite only
• September 2011: Google+ opens to everyone, Google+ Hangouts on Air launched to limited group of broadcasters
• November 2011: Google+ makes it easier to watch and find YouTube videos, Google+ Pages launch
• February 2012: Promote your Google+ Profile on your YouTube Channel (with a badge)
• March 2012: Create a YouTube channel linked to a Google+ Profile
• May 2012: Google+ Hangouts on Air launches to users worldwide
• June 2012: Link an existing YouTube channel to a Google+ Profile
• August 2012: YouTube Partners can link their channel to a Google+ Profile (not a Page)
• December 2012: Automatically share new uploads to Google+, Twitter, Facebook
• April 2013: Connect a YouTube channel to a Google+ Page in beta
• May 2013: Anyone can connect their existing YouTube channel to a Google+ Page
• July 2013: You can create a new YouTube channel with a Google+ Page
• September 2013: Top Fans connects large channels with fans on YouTube and Google+, Google+ Comments available on Discussion tab
• October 2013: YouTube announces "Communications Manager" role will "soon" be able to moderate comments on YouTube channels - this was never implemented
• November 2013: YouTube switches to Google+ Comments, has to fix a surge in "comment spam" (and Bob's army)
• June 2014: Messages replaces the old private messaging Inbox
• November 2014: Custom URLs shared by YouTube and Google+
• July 2015: Google announces Google+-YouTube split, immediately starts separating YouTube comments from Google+
• November 2015: Create a YouTube channel unconnected to a Google+ Profile, new Google+ introduced with simpler profiles (and no YouTube tab)
• February 2016:  Option to share private videos with Google+ Circles removed. 
• September 2016: Hangouts on Air move from Google+ to YouTube Live Events
• October 2016: Create a new YouTube channel on a Brand Account unconnected to a Google+ Page
• December 2016: YouTube Custom URLs separate from Google+ Custom URLs
• December 2016: YouTube introduces its own notification bell, separate from the One Google Bar bell used for Google+ and Google Photos
• June 2017:  Any YouTube channel that was never connected to Google+, and never confirmed its Google identity, is migrated to a Brand Account
• June 2018: YouTube comments will no longer enforce Google+ age and geographic restriction profile settings.This applies to any comments you’ve made on YouTube.
• January 2019: Automatic sharing to Google+ and Twitter removed
• February 2019: The few remaining Google+ features removed 
• April 2019: Google+ shuts down