A security bug allowed a third party of developers to access Google+ user profiles and data since 2015. Google discovered this in March, but decided not to inform the world. When users gave the app permission to use their public profile data, the bug would then allow those same developers to pull their and their friends’ non public profile fields.
496,951 users full names, email addresses, birth dates, gender, profile photos, places lived, occupation and relationship status were potentially exposed. However Google says it has no evidence that the data was misused by the 438 apps that had access to the data. I mean Google covered it up, why wouldn’t they be telling the truth?
The company claims they decided against informing the public because it would lead to “us coming into the spotlight alongside or even instead of Facebook despite having stayed under the radar throughout the Cambridge Analytica scandal,”. This was according to an internet memo.
Now Google+, which was already struggling is a massive liability for Google. This information came from a bombshell Wall Street Journal Report.