Google will shut down Google+ and will improve Android apps restrictions

Google+ is not a very popular social media platform, honestly speaking, but if you get used to it, you’ll find out it actually has some awesome perks and the information distribution on the platform is more accurate compared to other platforms. However, Google has come to a hard decision to shut the platform down due to a breach happened recently which exposed thousands of users’ private data. Google+ was hacked Google explained in their official statement that the security hole came from an unstable development which the company calls Project Strobe. The company admitted their mistake and lapses in the program. In order to avoid such circumstance to happen again, Google came to a decision to shut down Google+. This is to protect the users’ private data and, along with it, comes with access limitations on other apps. The multi-billion company states that it wasn’t able to deliver “a successful Google+ product that meets consumers’ expectations.” The shutting down process will run over the next 10 months. This is to make sure that no security holes are left open before announcing to the public that Google is safe again. Google was aware of the security glitch for a long time According to the company’s released statement, they were aware of the security glitch for a long time and chose not to disclose it in public. Google “fears that doing so would draw regulatory scrutiny and cause reputational damage.” The timeframe of the vulnerability actually dates back around the year of 2015 up to March 2018. Although it has been live for quite some time, Google successfully hid the bug from other developers, until the last attack. If all the developers were aware of the bug, they would’ve attempted to misuse the Google+ API, and in domino misuse the users’ private data on the platform. Access restrictions on Android Phones Google will impose several actions to improve user-security and one of them is to restrict Android apps from accessing other unnecessary apps. When using a new app, the prompt notification to request access on other apps will not only display a master “Allow” button. Now, users have the option to deny third-party apps to access major apps, unless otherwise necessary. For instance, Instagram wants to access SMS or Call Log which the app doesn’t necessarily need. Users can now deny the request and still continue using the app. The new permission box will be grittier, will display details of the data type at length, and the ability to allow or deny each app. Google will also improve its Gmail API, and promised to limit the Android apps to access the SMS and Call Logs. On the next Android security update, if an app requests access to SMS and Call Logs, that’s probably because sees no harm in that app or deemed the access to such services necessary. If you’ve been using Google+ services for some time, you better start packing up and let go of the platform as early as now. Based on Google’s statement, there‘s a zero chance that they will reverse the decision.