ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORK
Bug proves lethal to Google+
The US internet giant said it will "sunset" the Google+ social network for consumers
San Francisco - Google is shutting down the consumer version of its online social network after fixing a bug exposing private data in as many as 500,000 accounts. The US internet giant said it will "sunset" the Google+ social network for consumers. It failed to gain meaningful traction after being launched in 2011 as a challenge to Facebook. A Google spokesperson cited "significant challenges in creating and maintaining a successful Google+ that meets consumers’ expectations" along with "very low usage". In March, a security audit revealed a software bug that gave third-party apps access to Google+ private profile data that people meant to share only with friends. Google said it was unable to confirm which accounts were affected by the bug, but an analysis indicated it could have been as many as 500,000 Google+ accounts. "We found no evidence that any developer was aware of this bug ... and we found no evidence that any profile data was misused," Google said in a blog post. The data...
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