Google connects its Play Store with Google+, public reviews will now feature your name and picture

Seeking to improve the quality of reviews on its Play Store, Google has all but removed an element of anonymity and now requires users to post reviews of apps and games using their Google+ account.

The new requirement, spotted by Droid Life (via The Verge), can be seen when a user clicks the ‘Write a review’ link on an app on the Play Store, notifying users that reviews are now “Powered by Google+” and that “From now on, reviews you write will be posted publicly using your Google+ name and picture.”

Reviews posted by users before the switch will appear as “A Google User.”

Google’s new requirement mirrors its approach on YouTube, which has seen the search giant try to remove the veil of anonymity by asking users to connect their existing YouTube accounts with their Google+ profile to promote their personal brand.

At the time of writing, Google appears to be in the process of rolling the feature out, as new reviews simply revert back to the original page. However, it looks as if Google will end up making this a requirement on both Android devices and the Web.

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