Posted Mon 08 Oct, 2018 6:25 PM
Google is shutting down its much-maligned social network, Google+, after user data was exposed.
It said a bug in its software meant information that people believed was private had been accessible by third parties.
Google said up to 500,000 users had been affected.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the company knew about the issue in March but did not disclose it.
The WSJ quoted an internal Google memo that said doing so would draw “immediate regulatory interest”.
A spokeswoman for Google said that whenever user data may have been affected it determines whether to tell people based on a number of criteria.
"Our Privacy and Data Protection Office reviewed this issue, looking at the type of data involved, whether we could accurately identify the users to inform, whether there was any evidence of misuse, and whether there were any actions a developer or user could take in response.
"None of these thresholds were met here.," she said.
Google+ was launched in 2011, quickly becoming a failed attempt to compete with Facebook.
Speaking about the exposed data, Google said on Monday: "We found no evidence that any developer was aware of this bug, or abusing the API, and we found no evidence that any profile data was misused.”
Google said it would continue to offer private Google+-powered networks for businesses currently using the software.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-45792349
Personally I'm happy that Google is finally axing Google+, I can still remember the outcry when it was released and the eventual integration with YouTube Comments! Those were some dark times.
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Posted Mon 08 Oct, 2018 6:28 PM
Never used Google+. I don't mind that it shuts down, probably happy about it^^
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Posted Mon 08 Oct, 2018 6:57 PM
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Posted Mon 08 Oct, 2018 7:23 PM
Google+ had 500,000 users??
"And when I saw the breadth of my domain, I wept, for there were no more worlds left to conquer."
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Posted Wed 10 Oct, 2018 12:10 AM
Google+???
"This is the way"
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Posted Wed 10 Oct, 2018 1:20 PM
Google+ had 500,000 users??
499,500 were Russian trolls.