Google to overhaul privacy rules, kills Google+ after discovering exposure of user data

Google will close most of its failing social media platform Google+ and implement several new privacy measures after discovering that hundreds of thousands of users potentially had their personal data exposed because of a previously undisclosed software bug, the company announced Monday.

The bug, discovered in March during an internal company review, could have allowed outside software developers - or people posing as outside developers - to learn the names, email addresses, occupations, genders and ages of Google+ users.

Some of that qualifies as legally protected personally identifiable information, and its exposure could trigger scrutiny from federal and state regulators, including some who have probed Google before on similar issues. The company said in a blog post that it was not aware that any outsider had discovered the bug or used it to gain improper access to user data, though in previous online security incidents, such discoveries sometimes lag by months or years after a computer bug has been initially reported.

In the blog post, Google said it did not immediately announce the problems with Google+ because it was not sure which users to inform, who they were and what affected users could do to protect themselves. But a two-week-long review of Google+ found that up to 500,000 users may have had their data exposed to developers of 438 applications.

The Wall Street Journal separately reported Monday that Google executives delayed announcing problems with Google+ because of concerns about its reputation and the danger of sparking new pushes for regulation.

How to delete your Google+ account

One easy way to find out whether you're even on Google+ is to visit your Gmail inbox and click on your profile picture in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. If it says "Google+ Profile," it's safe to assume you have a Google+ account tied to your general Google Account.

Click on "Google+ Profile." It'll bring you to your profile on the Google+ platform.

Then, click on "Settings." You'll find that in the left-hand column, above the links for "Send feedback" and "Help." Next, you'll see a bunch of settings that you can change.

Scroll all the way to the bottom. There, under the "Account" section, you'll find a link that says "Delete your Google+ profile." Click that.

Google will give you some information on the implications of what you're about to do. You can click on each category to expand it and get more details.

Here, Google confirms that by deleting your Plus profile, you're also deleting your account on Google+. Doing so won't delete your general Google account, nor will it delete any of your photos or contacts. But it will delete all "+1s" - the Google equivalent of a Facebook like - as well as any posts you've created on the platform.

At the bottom of the page, check the box next to "Required" to acknowledge that deleting your profile can't be undone, then click "Delete."

If all goes well, you should be seeing a confirmation screen and survey, which you can feel free to answer or ignore as you wish.