This could be the 1st ever recorded case of an entire social network being shuttered so suddenly. We are talking of Google+, or GooglePlus, here. A WSJ expose claimed a software glitch in the social Site “gave outside developers potential access to private Google+ profile data between 2015 & March 2018, when internal investigators discovered & fixed the issue, according to the documents & people briefed on the incident.” Google had decided to….”include permanently shutting down all consumer functionality of Google+”. Which effectively means Google+ to shut down.
WSJ claims to have seen the memo prepared by Google’s legal & policy staff, which was shared with senior executives warning that disclosing the incident would likely trigger “immediate regulatory interest” & invite comparisons to Facebook’s leak of user information to data firm Cambridge Analytica.
In the wake of this “disaster”, Google has implemented stricter data privacy measures.
Google Exposed User Data, Feared Repercussions of Disclosing to Public – WSJ
Google exposed the private data of hundreds of thousands of users of the Google+ social network and then opted not to disclose the issue this past spring, in part because of fears that doing so would draw regulatory scrutiny and cause reputational damage, according to people briefed on the incident and documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Google+ to shut down after vulnerability discovered that left customer data unprotected – Android Central
http://news.google.com Oct 8, 2018
500000 Google+ Accounts Potentially Compromised; Company Shutting Down Consumer Google+ Service – NBC Connecticut
http://news.google.com Oct 8, 2018
Google+ social network is being killed, because of a privacy breach and because people just don’t use it – The San Diego Union-Tribune
http://news.google.com Oct 8, 2018
Google Finally Kills Off Google+ After Masking a Security Breach – Vanity Fair
http://news.google.com Oct 8, 2018
Google Shutters Google+ Following Privacy Vulnerability – Variety
http://news.google.com Oct 8, 2018
Google is shutting down Google+ for consumers following security lapse – The Verge
http://news.google.com Oct 8, 2018
Google+ to Shut Down Following Bug That Exposed 500K Profiles – PCMag Middle East (press release) (blog)
http://news.google.com Oct 8, 2018
Google+ social network to be shut down after bug exposed data of lakhs – News Nation
http://news.google.com Oct 8, 2018
Google on Monday announced it is shutting down the consumer version of its online social network after fixing a bug exposing private data in as many as 500,000 accounts. …