Google glass goes dark on its social media accounts

Four years after unveiling its wearable glass headset, Alphabet Inc's Google shut down several social media accounts linked to the Glass gadget, ending its push to popularize the pricey eyeglasses with consumers.

On Tuesday, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts for Google Glass were no longer active, a development first reported on the website 9to5Google.

A statement on the Google Plus page said: "Hi Explorers, we've had a blast hanging out with you on G+ throughout the Explorer Program." It went on to instruct users to get in touch with questions on the support page for Glass.

The company declined to comment on the decision. Google stopped selling Glass to consumers last year noting that it was time for a strategy reset, and the head of the Google X research lab has since then said that the hype surrounding the $1,500 device became overblown considering it was merely a prototype and not a finished product.

Glass was greeted with enthusiasm among tech aficionados when it was first unveiled in 2012. But the device, which allows users to access e-mail messages on its eye-level screen and to record video with a tiny camera, quickly ran into problems. Some mocked its awkward appearance, while others expressed concern it could be used to make video recordings surreptitiously.

On Twitter, many interpreted the disappearance of Glass's social accounts on Tuesday to mean a final end to efforts to market the product to consumers. Jonas Haberkorn (@JonasHaberkorn) tweeted: "#GoogleGlass for consumers is dead, yes really dead."

Meanwhile, one user lamented the disappearance of the device's social presence. Mark Tompkins (@javamarket), who identifies himself as a trader and former hedge fund partner on Twitter, said: "Disappointed in @google's decision 2 remove #GoogleGlass history from FB & @twitter. We learn best from actual recorded history. #coverup"