In an apparent attempt to eliminate anonymous trolling in Android app reviews, Google is now requiring users to sign up for Google+ before posting reviews of Android apps on the Google Play store. The change apparently went live overnight.
Testing on a Nexus 7 running Android 4.2, I was still able to leave one anonymous review of an app this morning. But upon a second attempt I was required to accept new Google Play terms and conditions and the ability to post anonymous reviews went poof.
You can still log into Google Play and download apps with a non-Google+ account, but if you try to review an app you'll be greeted with this message:
And, as you might expect, when you post a new review it will have your Google+ account name and picture right next to it:
This is effectively a ban on anonymity, because Google+ requires users to sign up with their real names. Pseudonyms are allowed, but not just for any old person—Google only allows pseudonyms if the person is well-known by a moniker other than their given name (like Madonna or Sting).
On Google's YouTube, Google+ profiles can optionally be used to leave comments on videos, but as of today it's not a requirement. The iPhone and iPad App Store, meanwhile, still allows reviews with anonymous usernames.
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