Google is shutting down Google Plus accounts and this was announced on Jan. 31. It was stated that the company already started deleting some consumer data even before the plan for the shut down was announced.
On Jan. 31, via blog post, Google's product manager, David Conway, wrote that next process will commence on April 2 in order to give users some time to save their contents if they want to do so.
"Starting April 2, 2019, we will shut down your Google+ account and any pages you created, and we'll begin deleting content from consumer Google+ accounts," Conway stated. "Photos and videos from Google+ in your Album Archive and your Google+ pages will also be deleted. If you have Google+ content that you would like to save, you must do so before April 2nd."
The product manager further revealed that the process of deleting the contents will take a few months. He also advised users to take action immediately if they have contents that they would like to save.
Google decided to close down Google Plus after it discovered that the site exposed thousands of the users' private data. It was mentioned that the company did not divulge its discovery and argued that it only did so because it did not think there is a need to alert the users. This is because they did not find evidence that the date was misused.
"No third party compromised our systems, and we have no evidence that the app developers that inadvertently had this access for six days were aware of it or misused it in any way," David Thacker, Google's VP said when the bug was discovered last year.
As per CNN, the bug allowed third-party app designers to get a hold of Google Plus users' personal information via their profiles. This was not acceptable since the data were collected without consent.
But while Google Plus's consumer version will be deleted, it will keep the accounts used by businesses.
"This means that for those of you who use Google+ as part of G Suite, your accounts will remain active," Conway said. "G Suite users include businesses who pay for its services and educational institutions and other organizations that use G Suite at no cost."
In any case, Google's social media site was originally scheduled for closing down in August but due to the data breach, the bosses decided to move up the date. This will also avoid further damage arising from the exposure of data.
