It's not clear whether users will be able to carry over to Google+ the social connections they have established using Reader's now retired "friending," "following" and "shared link" features, or whether they'll have to recreate them manually.

Google is making it possible for users who decide to stop using Reader to their account data.

"We hope you'll like the new Reader -- and Google+ -- as much as we do, but we understand that some of you may not. Retiring Reader's sharing features wasn't a decision that we made lightly, but in the end, it helps us focus on fewer areas, and build an even better experience across all of Google," wrote Alan Green, a software engineer, in .

People who haven't used the Reader social sharing features will feel no effect from the Google+ integration.