Google+ Local App Killed

Google will formally retire the Google+ Local app for iOS on August 7.

While this retirement may seem strange from what many would consider is a trendy product, it is actually part of Google reshuffle and pushing users to migrate to the Google Maps for mobile app instead.

The Google Maps app already includes all the features in the Google+ Local app, so users won’t miss any of their preferred features when they change.

An email from Google states that users will no longer be able to access the Google+ Local standalone app after August 7, but the app already seems to have been pulled from the App Store, although it isn't clear who detached it. Clicking the link to the local app now redirects users to the Google Maps app.

On the outside it would seem that Google should continue with the Google+ Local app, simply because of the current user base. However, the user base for the app was very small, and was dropping, likely due to people switching to the new Google Maps app.

Less than 0.75 percent of iPhone users in the U.S. opened the Google+ Local App at least once in June, TechCrunch reported via Onavo Insights. By comparison, that number was nearly 35 percent for the Google Maps app. So you consider that all of the Google+ Local features are in Google Maps, it makes a lot of business sense for Google to support that one.

In another App closure, Google is also retiring their Catalogs app as of August 15 for both Android and iOS, but they do plan to continue maintaining the service for U.S. users as a web-based program. There is no cause given for why they have made this change, just simply a notice given in the Google catalogs app.

Google has closed and streamlines many of their products this year, including the most divisive closure of Google Reader earlier this month, but from which spawned the launch of several similar products from competitors, including AOL.