Google is shutting down the consumer version of its Google Plus networking service, which never captured its target market the way creators envisioned, after a bug this spring that exposed user profile data.

The vulnerability, discovered during the company’s “Project Strobe” review of third-party access to data, was disclosed Monday amid growing federal government scrutiny of how technology companies employ and protect the data they gather on their users. Google’s decision not to inform users of the discovery earlier is likely to draw increased attention now, said Scott Kessler, an analyst with CFRA Research.