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The exposed data comprised of general information including full names, email ids, birthdays and occupation. Google found no evidence of misuse of the data although the company is not completely sure.
Google’s parent Alphabet has decided to take action by rolling out new privacy measures which include closing down Google + for consumers. The legal department warned that disclosing the incident would invite the sort of regulatory scrutiny that Facebook (FB) had to face in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Google analyzed whether it could accurately identify the users to inform, whether there was evidence of misuse and whether responsive action could be taken, and chose to keep mum after it claimed none of these thresholds were met.
The report stated that a broad review of the company’s privacy practices showed that several of its major products needed tighter controls. Google reportedly has plans to restrict the access to user data for outside developers through APIs.
Google + was first unveiled in 2011 as a competitor to Facebook. However, it failed to attract users and ended up as a damp squib. This incident is likely to put Google in a sticky spot amid concerns among various groups over the control that large technology firms have on user data.