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Google+ rolls out profile verification

Kathryn McConnachie
By Kathryn McConnachie, Digital Media Editor at ITWeb.
Johannesburg, 22 Aug 2011

Google's social platform, Google+, began rolling out a verification badge system this weekend.

message and video posted by Google+'s Wen-Ai Yu, Yu says: “We're starting to roll out verification badges on profiles so you can be sure the person you're adding to a circle is who they claim to be.

“For now, we're focused on verifying public figures, celebrities, and people who have been added to a large number of circles, but we're working on expanding this to more folks.”

Yu, however, doesn't explain exactly how accounts are verified.

The roll-out of the verification badges adds to Google+'s existing real-name that requires users to use their everyday names on the network.

According to the Google+ profile guidelines: “It's important to use your common name so that the people you want to connect with can find you. Your common name is the name your friends, family or co-workers usually call you.”

The guidelines also warn: “Impersonation is a serious issue. Pretending to be someone else could cause your profile to be deleted.”

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