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Google+ will shut down 4 months early after Google discovered a 2nd bug affecting user data for more than 52 million

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On Monday, Google announced that it would be shutting down Google+ four months early after another bug involving user data was discovered in November.

The company said 52.5 million users were affected by this issue, which exposed information including names, email addresses, occupations, and ages, between November 7 and November 13. Google said it has fixed the bug and will begin contacting those whose information has been compromised.

Read more: Google shutters the Google+ social network after Wall Street Journal reports a huge security lapse

Earlier this year, Google announced it would be shutting down Google+ after a Wall Street Journal report revealed that a software glitch caused Google to expose the personal profile data of hundreds of thousands of Google+ users.

Previously, Google said it was shutting down the social network in August 2019. Now, that sunset date has moved up four months to April. 

Google also said it would cut off API access to the product within the next 90 days. 

In a blog post, the company said, in part: "We understand that our ability to build reliable products that protect your data drives user trust. We will never stop our work to build privacy protections that work for everyone." 

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Nick Bastone is a former tech reporter at Business Insider, based in San Francisco. He reported on Google/Alphabet and various tech news. Nick previously covered social media and politics for Inside.com. Before Inside, he was the digital editor for a Bay Area publication called The Six Fifty. Got a tip? Contact this reporter via Signal or WhatsApp at +1 (209) 730-3387 using a non-work phone, Telegram at nickbastone, or Twitter DM at @nickbastone. (PR pitches by email only, please.)