Gmail and Google+

People signing up for Google's Gmail service are no longer required to create an account for the search giant's social network as well.

Since 2012, part of the process of joining Gmail meant also signing up for Google+, but now, new users can opt out of the requirement by hitting a "no thanks" button.

"We updated the signup experience in early September," a Google spokesperson told CNET. "Users can now create a public profile during signup, or later, if and when they share public content for the first time (like a restaurant review, YouTube video or Google+ post)."

Google has made a number of moves around its products and their integration with Google+ in the past few months. The company has extended features beyond the walls of the social network. Hangouts, Google's videoconferencing service, in July was added to the company's suite of enterprise software. The company will also reportedly break out popular photo features of Google+ to become a standalone brand.