On Monday, the internet giant Google announced that it is shutting down its consumer version of the online social network Google+. The decision came after the app was exposed to a bug that compromised data of over 500000 accounts.
Google+ was launched in 2011 as a challenge to Facebook but failed to get enough traction from the users. According to a Google spokesperson, the move to shut down the network came from facing significant challenges in creating and maintaining a successful Google+ that meets consumers’ expectations” along with “very low usage” as the reasons for the move.
It was revealed in a security audit in March that a bug gave third-party apps access to Google+ private profile data people meant to share only with friends. However, Google wasn’t able to confirm which accounts were exposed to the bug. The blog post by Google read, “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.”
However, Google states that the data involved was limited to optional profile fields, including name, age, gender, occupation, and email address. Information that could be accessed did not include posts, messages or telephone numbers.
Google will wind down Google+ in the coming 10 months in order to allow people time to download pictures, videos or other data they want from their accounts. Furthermore, Google plans to add new workplace-oriented features to enhance the appeal of Google+ as a “secure corporate social network” to be used inside business operations.
According to a Google spokesperson, “Our review showed that Google+ is better suited as an enterprise product where co-workers can engage in internal discussions.”
Google also added that users will get a fine grain control of the app, and the applications tailored to augment Gmail will also face new rules regarding data handling and be subject to security assessments.
Furthermore, applications for use on Android-powered smartphones that seek phone or SMS data will need to conform to stricter rules when it comes to calls or text messaging, according to Google.
