Google+ Shuts Down After Data Breach Of 5 Lakh Users; Download Google+ Data Now!
Google+ has been finally put to rest.
The final nail in the coffin of Google+ has been hammered, finally. Google has decided to kill Google+ for consumers, and a new variant for ‘enterprise’ users will be coming soon.
We will share how you can take a backup of your Google+ data, but before that, let us understand what made Google kill Google+, rather abruptly?
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Data Breach Of 500,000 Google+ Users
Around the time Facebook and Cambridge Analytica’s data scandal broke out, Google+ too had a severe data breach incident. However, instead of coming out, and informing all, they decided to hide it.
In an internal memo, Google policy and legal officials wrote that a full-fledged disclosure will result “in us coming into the spotlight alongside or even instead of Facebook despite having stayed under the radar throughout the Cambridge Analytica scandal”
So, they decided to hide it.
However now, the issue is no longer hidden, and the details are out.
The decision to stop Google+ platform has been largely influenced by this incident of this data breach.
What Exactly Happened In Data Breach?
Due to a bug in one one of the APIs, third-party apps which were allowed to access some information of Google+ users were actually allowed to access to more information, which was not intended for them.
For instance private information about the user, information about their friends and more.
Infact, Google keeps API data for only two weeks, hence, it is not exactly clear the extent of the damage.
Ben Smith, the vice-president of engineering wrote in a blog post, “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,”
Ok, So What’s Next?
Google’s decision to shutdown Google+ has been largely influenced by this data breach of 500,000 users, the majority of whom are not even aware that their profiles were compromised.
Although US Federal Laws cannot take action against Google due to this ‘hidden’ data breach, state laws can, especially California where Google is based out of.
In the coming months, Google is expected to roll out an enterprise version of Google+, which will have more security features.
Download Your Google+ Data
Incase you were an active Google+ user, and had information stored in the profile, then this is the time to take a backup of that data, and download it.
Google users can visit Google Takeout portal, and then click on +1 to take a backup of the data.
Even Google admits that Google+ was a failure, and the shutting down of this social network doesn’t mean much for the average social media user.
However, the news that Google hid data breach of 500,000 users, can have some serious side-effects.
We will keep you updated, as more details come in.
