Beware: Your limited posts can be shared publicly on Google+
thenextweb.comThis title is misleading and implies a breach in privacy on Google+. While that's technically true, the article is actually about how Google has recognized the problem and is currently fixing it.
"First, when you have a post that is defined as Limited (anything that you haven’t shared publicly) other people will no longer be able to share that content. Previously, once you shared it, others could link to it and that created a privacy problem that Google wanted to fix in the post-Buzz world."
The original title worked just as well.
I think the headline is accurate.
While we don't normally think of it as odd (probably because it happens on Facebook and other social networking sites all the time) Google+ was meant to protect privacy better than this, so it's a valid concern. And they're addressing it, as you noted.
I think you should be able to share links again, without giving access to all the comments and such. Pics and text should not be sharable... Without permission. I can imagine having things that I don't want to post 'public' but that I wouldn't mind friends sharing with friends I don't know.
Either way, there is no privacy. It is always possible to take a screenshot, and share the screenshot publicly.
The only solution against it, which I'm able to come up with quickly, is Google Plus adding subtle watermarks identifying uniquely each recipient.
They should probably just change the default to disallow re-sharing on limited posts. I found the disable re-share option immediately but my wife didn't notice it due to the low contrast of the drop down button on each post.
I'm a little more concerned with the fact that you can see who a limited post was shared with by clicking on the limited link next to posts. It should be pretty simple to figure out who your friends have placed in their circles by looking at who their limited posts were shared with.
This is what the 'Disable Reshares' option is for.
Yes, this is how digital information works. If you give one person a copy, they can then give other people more copies.
The UI fluff will never change that.