Google+ will not provide shelter of any sort to users and their pseudonyms.
On Friday, it was revealed that Google+ is effectively banning the use of pseudonyms and nicknames when used to conceal real names.
At this time, Google+ will allow current users to maintain their pseudonyms for four days before facing suspension. They have until the end of the weekend to revise their accounts and profiles to reflect their real name.
Beyond the weekend, any effort to dodge the use of one’s real name is now considered a violation of Google’s Common Names Policy and will result in removal or suspension.
“During this period, you can continue to use Google+ as usual,” Google+ Product Manager Saurabh Sharma says. “We’re hoping that most affected users will be able to quickly fix their profile name while continuing to enjoy all that Google+ has to offer.”
The policy is being enforced as a means to crack down on the spread of spam and to increase the general security of the platform and its many users.
With the new enforcement in effect, Sharma says that the Google+ experience will be more like how we connect with people “in the real world.” In other words, we have to show our real names and faces to the world. And Google+ is going to make sure we do the same online.
