Google bug exposed data of up to 500,000 Google+ users

Google has found a bug that exposed the data of hundreds of thousands of Google+ users. That includes names, email addresses, occupation, gender and age. Google first discovered the bug in March 2018 and patched it, but up to five hundred thousand accounts could have been affected since 2015. The company said it found no evidence of data misuse in a blog post. So why did it take so long to disclose? According to the Wall Street Journal, Google wanted to avoid scrutiny from lawmakers. Let's take a trip down memory lane. Google+ launched in 2011 and was supposed to be the search giant's answer to Facebook with tight integration into other Google products and services like YouTube. But the social network didn't have the same staying power with some calling it a virtual ghost town just a year after launch, but it looks like this bag was the final nail on the coffin. Google+ is shutting down and will close its virtual doors for the last time by the end of next august. Many other companies have come under the magnifying glass in 2018 for their data collection practices. Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal exposed the details of eighty seven million users. And Google itself was criticized earlier this year when the company was revealed to track user locations even after that specific location's history setting was turned off. And don't expect this story to end here. Google CEO Sundar Pichai was already set to appear before the US House of Representatives in November. Expect this hearing to be a big one. For more on this story, visit CNET.com.