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You are Publicly Visible on GTalk Chat with ID @Public.Talk.Google.com

Some friends in my Google Talk chat list had a weird email ID which goes something like this- some_random@public.talk.google.com. When I can see them, chances are that even they can see me on their list. It means I am publicly visible to many people. Little search on this revealed that, these are the people whom I have circled on Google Plus.

Yes. By default, when you sign in Google Plus, you are also signed in to Google Chat. And, if you haven’t taken care of Privacy settings, you are visible online to people in your circles.

public talk google com chat

How to Stop Appearing Online to Unknown People on Google Talk?

  1. Sign into the Talk gadget of Google+ on right sidebar.
  2. Open the drop-down menu next to your name within the chat client and select Privacy settings.
  3. In the Choose who can chat with you option, select Custom.
  4. Unselect all the circle names in the checkboxes that appear.
  5. Click save.

public talk google com plus

Now, you aren’t visible to any circle of Google Plus but only to the people whom you allowed or added.

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Why is their ID @public.talk.google.com ?

According to a post at Google Forums, @public.talk.google.com is automatically assigned XMPP username. Advantage of such name is that, you can chat with anyone in Google+ Circles without revealing your real Email ID. I couldn’t see email ID when I logged in through talk gadget on Google+. Even GMail web chat clients do not display this address; only the person’s name is displayed, and the profile photo if you hover over the name. However, this address can be seen for people in your circles using XMPP clients and in the Google Talk Android client.

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So, this is how you can get rid of unknown people with ID @public.talk.google.com and make your online presence restricted to people you know.

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