Google is trying to compete with the big boys of social media at a very subdued pace but they are surely making strides in the right direction. Google+’s most attractive and useful features are still not known to the most avid user. We have compiled a list of Google+ tricks and tips to get a better understanding of this Google brainchild.

12 Best Google Plus Tricks & Tips

1. Auto backup of images from phones

This particular feature of Google+ is not unknown to its users but still is one of the most underutilized features of this social media platform. Google provides an inexhaustible storage facility for images, photos one uploads. Images from the lowest aspect ratio to the one with high definition and full resolution can be stored in the storage space provided by Google+. One needs to turn on the “Auto Upload” feature in the Google+ application to utilize this Google+ trick.

2. Use a GIF as one’s display picture

One can upload a GIF as their display picture and also the cover photo. Google+ is the only social media platform that allows a GIF to be uploaded as a cover photo.

3. Upload a slide show of photos on your profile

Perhaps this one Google plus trick would come as a surprise to its users but yes Google+ does allow a slide show of photos to be posted on the users profile. In this Google+ trick, the software links all your profile photos, cover photos and any other random uploads the user has made on their profile and generates a slide show. Click on the menu which is on the top left and then select “Profile”. Then under the Photos menu, scroll towards “Profile Photos”, and then select the ” Add Photos” menu. Then Google+ will create a slide show and ask the user whether to post it on their profile.

4. Keep a track of who shared your photos and posts

This particular feature is very useful for tracking the activities regarding your profile which are not done by the user themselves. This particular Google+ trick uses a very unique feature known as Google+ Ripples. Ripples show a detailed statistic about how many public shares have taken place of your posts and the timing of the shares. It is also useful to safeguard and keep a track of all that is being shared in the users’ name which is out of the user’s control.

5. Enhanced features of the Hangout apps

What Messenger is to Facebook, Hangouts is to Google+. Linking one’s Google+ profile with the Hangout application allows a user to access the features of Hangout with extreme ease. The list of features includes screen sharing, remote desktops, voice calls, location sharing, Google drive support, video calling, and SMS support. There is many more add on features one can access by linking Hangout to several third-party tools.

6. Planning a Hangout on the Air

One can schedule a Hangout on the Air in a very easy manner. Add the Google+ hangout to a calendar event using the create event click. Go to the menu on the left of Google+ and then click on the “Plan a Hangout” button. Add the details of the people you want to invite on the planned Hangout.

7. Import friends from other social media platforms

One very useful feature of Google+ is that it allows its users to import their friends from other social media platforms like Facebook, Viber and many more. This Google+ tip is enabled using the Friend Exporter feature.

8. +1 Personalization

This feature is identical to the like button in Facebook. The user can choose whether to display names of the people liking a post or simply display something like “33 people +1’d this”. One has to enable this feature by going to personalized settings and is a very crisp feature available with Google+.

9. Google+ Image editor

This unique Google+ feature is very popular among its user. To access this photo editor just follow the following steps: “Google+ Settings >> Account Overview >> Edit Profile >> Change Photo”. After going to change photo there is an option called “Edit in Picnik”. Using this tool one can edit any image they want to with relative ease and crispness.

10. Store posts and images in empty Circles

A Circle can used to store posts for future references something similar to bookmarking a post, URL or an image. One has to create an empty circle and name the circle according to your intended use of it. For example, one can name a circle as “Notes” to store notes for future reference. It serves a similar function to the Evernote application. The number of circles an user can create has no limits and this makes organizing their profiles easier.

11. Real time notifications

By adding a browser extension “Surplus” allows the user to get notifications regarding updates and messages in real time. User can even act on the notification from within the extension without closing their current activity or browsed page.

12. Limit the sharing of posts and messages

Privacy has been a serious concern since the social media age has begun. Though social media in itself is an example of public platform but still there are a few images, posts or videos that users would want limited people to have an access to. This Google+ tip allows the user to change the privacy setting within their profile and “Disable re-share” which will not allow any other user to share the users post without their consent.

Google+ can be a stingy platform to set foot in initially but once the user gets acquainted with this platform it is as convenient and as simple as it can get. The above mentioned Google plus tricks & tips will provide a good enough kick start to any user and enlighten an established user who might have been unaware of the above features. Soon Google will sophisticate this platform even further but until then one can get a grip of above Google+ tricks.