Google exposed user data, feared repercussion of disclosing to public: WSJ

It is planning to announce a sweeping set of data privacy measures that include permanently shutting down all consumer functionality of Google+, as part of its response to the incident

Alphabet Inc's Google exposed the private data of hundreds of thousands of users of its Google+ social network and opted not to disclose the issue partly due to fears of regulatory scrutiny, the Wall Street Journal said, citing unnamed sources.

A software glitch in the social site gave outside developers potential access to private Google+ profile data between 2015 and March 2018, when internal investigators discovered and fixed the issue, the report said, citing documents and people briefed on the incident.
 

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Shares of Alphabet Inc were down 2.2 percent at $1142.43.