In October 2018, Google announced the closure of its social network Google+ following the discovery of a security breach during an internal audit in March that year.

The breach exposed the personal data of approximately 500,000 accounts.

Although Google claimed to have patched the vulnerability immediately, the incident prompted the decision to shut down Google+ for individual users, a platform already suffering from low activity.

Users were given ten months to download their data before the platform was permanently deactivated. However, Google+ remained available in a version tailored for enterprise users.

Exposure of Private Information

The breach allowed third-party applications to access sensitive user data, such as names, email addresses, professions, genders, and ages.

Messages, passwords, and phone numbers, however, were not affected.

Google stated that up to 438 applications might have theoretically exploited the bug, but assured the public that app developers were unaware of the vulnerability and no evidence of data misuse had been found.

Criticism Over Google's Response

The main criticism was not the breach itself, but Google’s handling of the situation.

The issue, discovered in March, was kept secret for six months, coinciding with the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Unlike Facebook, whose leaders testified before the U.S. Congress, Google chose not to appear before lawmakers, instead submitting a written statement.

Later, Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, agreed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee in November 2018, where lawmakers were expected to raise significant questions about the breach and the company's approach to user data protection.