Skip to main content

Vic Gundotra, head of Google+, abruptly leaves company

google senior vice president head vic gundotra bids adieu company
Image used with permission by copyright holder

After eight years working at Google, senior vice president and head of Google+ Vic Gundotra revealed that he is departing the company. In a post on (where else) Google+, Gundotra wrote that “now is the time for a new journey. A continuation.” While Gundotra didn’t reveal what his next step is, he wrote that he’s “excited about what’s next.”

Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page further confirmed Gundotra’s departure, thanking him for the eight years Gundotra spent at Google and wishing him luck in his future endeavors. Reported by Recode and confirmed by Google, Google+ vice president of engineering Dave Besbris will fill the void left by Gundotra. No word on when exactly the transition will take place.

Recommended Videos

Interestingly enough, someone anonymously posted on Secret that Gundotra was interviewing for a position elsewhere. The post did not reveal what exact position Gundotra was reportedly interviewing for, so take it with a grain of salt. If it turns out to be true, we should hear an announcement from Gundotra himself in the near future.

 
Williams Pelegrin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…
Google is making it easier to ditch your iPhone for an Android phone
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro in hand.

Switching phones is never a smooth process, even if you’re switching between two different Android phones. However, when you’re trying to switch from an iPhone to Android or vice versa, it can be extra complicated -- and you can lose data and apps that you rely on. This is especially the case with Apple-to-Android transfers because the iPhone has a much stronger ecosystem lock-in with things like iMessage, iCloud backups, and exclusive apps like Overcast and Hyperlapse.

The good news is that with its Data Transfer Tool (also called Pixel Migrate on Pixel devices), Google may be trying to mitigate some of the phone-switching problems that arise -- specifically, losing access to your Live Photos. According to an APK teardown from Android Authority, Google’s Data Transfer Tool will finally resolve the problem of migrating iOS Live Photos to Android. It will do this by converting them over as Motion Photos.

Read more
Your Google Photos app may soon get a big overhaul. Here’s what it looks like
The Google Photos app running on a Google Pixel 8 Pro.

Google Photos is set to get a long-overdue overhaul that will bring new and improved sharing and notification features to the app. With its automatic backups, easy sorting and search, and album sharing, Google Photos has always been one of the better photo apps, and now it's set to get a whole slew of AI features.

According to an APK teardown done by Android Authority and the leaker AssembleDebug, Google is now set to double down on improving sharing features. Google Photos will get a new social-focused sharing page in version 6.85.0.637477501 for Android devices.

Read more
Google just announced 7 big Android updates. Here’s what’s new
Text editing in Google Messages.

If you have an Android phone or tablet or a Wear OS watch, you should sit up and pay attention. Google has just announced a bundle of new features it's rolling out soon, and from Google Messages updates to a better hotspot experience, there's a lot to dig into.

Earlier this year, Google was spotted testing a new edit feature for its RCS-powered Google Messages app. Well, it has finally made its way to the app with the latest Android feature drop.

Read more