4.7 million customers’ data accidentally leaked to Google by Blue Shield of California

Blue Shield of California disclosed that a Google Analytics configuration error caused sensitive member data for up to 4.7 million people to be transmitted to Google Ads between April 2021 and January 2024. The exposed data likely included protected health information such as plan type, location, gender, family size, account IDs, names, and search queries; Blue Shield says no SSNs or financial account data were leaked. The insurer is notifying affected members and reviewing website tracking to prevent further exposure, while noting Google may have used the data for targeted advertising.