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Google notified some local businesses that specifically had set their business address not to show to the public, did end up being shown to some searchers by accident between the dates of October 2019 through April 2021 - yes, a full 18 months. Google said it fixed the issue and service area businesses going forward will not show their addresses.
This can be a serious security concern for lets say a photographer that works out of their home and does not want their home address to show up in Google Search.
Ben Fisher posted the email on Twitter the Google My Business email sent to these business over the weekend. The email said "we believe an address you provided to Google My Business to verify Business Profile ownership may have inadvertently been displayed in local Google Shopping search results on some occasion(s) between October 2019 and April 2021. We have fixed this issue and there is no further action you need to take."
Here is the full email, click to enlarge:
This is a huge shame but bugs do happen. :(
Forum discussion at Twitter.
