Google+ is going through a few changes and if you haven’t noticed yet, every time you +1 a post, article or video, there may be a possibility for your +1 showing up in the home stream of your extended circles. The extended circle is the default setting for all Google+1 notifications. For most users this will not change and if you’re happy with your +1 displaying to your extended circles on the home page, then there is no need to change this setting. However if you wish to keep your Google +1 private, here is the settings to change.
Turning the setting to “Private” is easy however a little tricky to find as it’s buried within other settings of Google+.
How to Keep your Google +1 Activity Private
- Go to your personal Google Plus Page
- Hover your mouse over the “Profile” button and select “Settings”
- Within “Settings” scroll half way down and look for “Apps & Activities”
- Click on “Manage apps & activities”
- You will see 3 Tabs. Apps, Google, Log.
- Select “Google” tab
- The default setting +1’s on posts activity is set to “Extended Circles”
- Press the “Edit” button to change this to your personal preference.
As Google States “Sharing your activity helps your friends find cool people and posts. People you select here may see updates about your future Google+ activity. You can view your past activities in the Activity Log. As always, activity updates from private posts will only be seen by people the post is shared with.” I keep my Google +1’s visible to “Your Circles” and not “Private – Only Me”. I like to share my activity within my inner circles.
By hovering your mouse to the right of this setting, a hidden button can be found. “Edit App”. Clicking on “Edit App > View Activities” or click on the “Log” tab at the top. From the Activity Log screen you can view your past +1’s and other activity on Google Plus.
Final Note: This option is only to stop your own Google +1’s from showing on other users extended accounts. Unfortunately this does not stop others peoples +1’s from showing within your home timeline page. So you can keep people from seeing your +1 activity but currently there’s no way at this point to stop seeing other peoples +1’s on your account.