Google Plus shutting down due to data breach

Google found a bug in the API of Google plus. This bug was allowing third-party app developers to access the data not just of users who had granted permission, but of their friends as well.

The best part about this whole data breach issue was that Google did not try to hide the issue and decided to make it public.

Facebook had undergone the same scenario however they decided to hide this information from the public and this led Mark Zuckerberg to face scrutiny from the US Congress.

Its “almost guaranteed that Sundar Pichai will testify before Congress”. The disclosure would also invite “immediate regulatory interest”, as per the released Google memo said.

In a recent blogpost about the shutdown, Google disclosed the data leak, which it said to potentially affect up to 500,000 Google Plus accounts. Up to 438 different third-party applications may have had access to private information due to the bug, but Google apparently has no way of knowing whether they did because it only maintains logs of API use for two weeks.

When is Google Plus Shutting Down?

Google is going to shut down Google Plus over the next 10 months.

Google discovered the Google+ issue as a part of its broader Project Strobe initiative to limit third-party access to user data.

To resolve this issue, Google is shutting down the consumer aspect of the social network. It will remain available for enterprise clients that need an internal social network, but the regular app will be unavailable starting in August after a 10-month wind-down period.

This review crystallized what we’ve known for a while: that while our engineering teams have put a lot of effort and dedication into building Google+ over the years, it has not achieved broad consumer or developer adoption, and has seen limited user interaction with apps. The consumer version of Google+ currently has low usage and engagement: 90 percent of Google+ user sessions are less than five seconds.

Will Google Plus Shut Down for Everyone

Google Plus is going to shut down for consumers, however, will remain open for enterprise users.

Google effectively wound down the consumer functions of its failed Google Plus social network in 2015, but profiles remained active. The company said in its blog post that it currently sees low usage and engagement, with 90 percent of interactions lasting less than five seconds. Google also said the enterprise version of the service will remain open for office workers who use it for internal discussions.

In addition to the shutdown, Google said it would be giving consumers more options with regards to which data they share with which app developers. It’s also limiting the developers that can access Gmail data to those with a specific use case in mind that is relevant to the email experience, as well as restricting access to Android contact and call log data to the selected default app for making calls and sending text messages.

Rise & Fall of Google Plus & Shut Down Effects

Google Plus, often the ridicule of the tech audience, rolled out in 2011 as a competitor against the rising social platforms of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The idea of a social platform within the search giant’s suite of products made a certain kind of sense: if you can tether your inbox, your contacts, your videos from YouTube and your photos from Picasa, then why not have it all in one place to share with your network? Your Circles, if you will.

Google also tied in a strong SEO capability for publishers to include the social platform’s +1 button on their sites so you could share their content to your Circles, thus completing the Google Ouroboros. None of this worked. And now, seven years after creation, Google Plus is no more.