Google refocuses efforts on Privacy and Security for all users

Google is changing the image of Android OS with the new Android Q OS which has major security and privacy features that could give Android a much anticipated edge against iOS. Apple has famously rallied around privacy and security through various security features. Google promised to give Android users greater control of their personal information and data. There will be tools within Android Q to Auto-Delete browsing history and location information, as well as Incognito Mode across various system apps.

Google is really rallying around privacy and security, the difference from Apple's approach is that Google is making these features more accessible even through lower cheaper smartphones running on older hardware. In an OP/ED in the New York Times, titled Privacy Should Not Be a Luxury Good,  Google CEO Sundar Pichai discussed the company-wide push towards safeguarding user privacy, or at least giving users the ability to decide and control what they do with their information. Google will employ various strategies to safeguard user's personal data.

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Google + for consumers will shut down by August 2019

Google + will not go out with a bang, or even a whimper. The long irrelevant play at creating a social media platform tied to Google services will instead be extinguished with hushed apologies for the recent discovery that Google had allowed a known exploit to exist without notifying its users.

Google + was once a vibrant and alternative to Facebook and Twitter which offered a good place to post and dialogue about various interests and ideas. The service, which was available on the web and then on mobile, lost traction and eventually withered due to poor management and promotion. Google has apparently pivoted it as an enterprise tool, but the consumer service will end next year.

The recent discovery that a three-year old vulnerability was left open by Google has sped up the service's demise. The Wall Street Journal reported that Google knew and kept secret information about the exploit that affected 500,000 user accounts and exposed even private user information.

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