were mostly male (71.24%), and the dominant age bracket (35%) was between 25 and 34. An August 2011 survey estimated that 13% of U.S. adults had joined Google+. Features and functions User profile A Google+ user profile was a publicly visible account of a user that was attached to many Google properties. It included basic social networking services like a profile photo, an about section, a cover photo, previous work and school history, interests, places lived and an area to post status updates. It also included several identity service sections, such as a contributor and other profiles area that allowed users to link their "properties across the web". These sections were optionally linked to other social media accounts one had, any blogs one owns or have written or sites one is a contributor to. This area was used for Google Authorship. Customized or Vanity URLs were made available to the public starting on October 29, 2013, to any account that was 30+ days old and had a profile photo and at least 10 followers. Google removed author photos from search results in June 2014, and in August 2014 Google stopped showing authorship in search results, both photo and author name. Circles Circles was a core feature of the Google+ Social Platform. It enabled users to organize people into groups or lists for sharing across various Google products and services. Organization of circles was done through a drag-and-drop interface until a site redesign in 2015 reduced it to a simple checkbox interface. Once a circle was created, a Google+ user could share specific private content to only that circle. For example, work-themed content could be shared with only colleagues, and one's friends and family could see more personal content and photos. The option to share Public or with Everyone was always available. Identity services Starting in November 2011, Google+ profiles were used as the background account for many Google services including YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps, Android, Google Play, Google Music, Google Voice, Google Wallet, Google Local and more. As of January 10, Google Search was customized with a feature called Search Plus Your World, which inserted content shared on Google+ profiles and brand pages under Web Search results, if one was logged into one's Google+ account while using it. The feature, which was opt-in, was received with controversy over the emphasis of Google+ profiles over other social networking services. The feature