Google announced Monday it is shutting down the consumer version of its online social network after fixing a bug exposing private data in as many as 500,000 accounts. The US internet giant said it will "sunset" the Google+ social network for consumers, which failed to gain meaningful traction after being launched in 2011 as a challenge to Facebook.

A Google spokesperson cited "significant challenges in creating and maintaining a successful Google+ that meets consumers' expectations" along with "very low usage" as the reasons for the move. In March, a security audit revealed a software bug that gave third-party apps access to Google+ private profile data that people meant to share only with friends.