City
Epaper

Millions of Instagram users' data leaked, company probing

By IANS | Updated: May 21, 2019 16:30 IST

After Facebook that is battling several data breaches, its photo-sharing service Instagram saw itself in trouble after personal data of millions of celebrities and influencers were allegedly exposed on its platform in a massive database that was traced to Mumbai-based social media marketing firm Chtrbox.

Open in App

The database contained 49 million records of several high-profile influencers, including prominent food bloggers, celebrities and other social media influencers, TechCrunch reported it first late Monday.

"Each record contained public data, including bio, profile picture, number of followers they have, location and private contact information," the report claimed.

On Tuesday, an Instagram spokesperson said they were investigating whether a third party improperly stored Instagram data, in violation of its policies.

"It's also not clear whether the phone numbers and emails in Chtrbox's database came from Instagram," an Instagram Spokesperson told .

"Regardless, the possibility of third parties mishandling user data is something we take seriously, which is why we're quickly working to understand what happened," said the company.

According to the report, "Chtrbox pulled the database offline".

Chtrbox is a web development company which pays to social media influencers to promote content.

It describes itself as a platform for brands to collaborate with influential social media characters in India.

Security researcher Anurag Sen had first discovered the database.

In 2017, a bug in Instagram led to the leak of personal details of more than 6 million celebrity users that included Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian.

The stolen informated was later dumped into a database and reportedly sold for $10 per record via Bitcoins.

Open in App

Related Stories

International"Trade talks with US have moved on quite well," says USISPF President

InternationalPakistan: Lahore ranked second most polluted city in world

EntertainmentFor Simu Liu, ‘it means everything’ to work with Marvel Legends in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

EntertainmentEddie Murphy confesses he was Angry when he didn’t win Oscar for ‘Dreamgirls’

NationalMP: 25 injured in tractor-trolley collision, 7 critical

कारोबार Realted Stories

BusinessIndia may gain slight edge as US exempts several agri products from reciprocal tariffs: GTRI report

BusinessDeepening trade, debt sustainability, critical minerals key focus areas at G20 Summit: SA Envoy

BusinessPiyush Goyal engages with global leaders, outlines 3 pillars to boost partnerships

BusinessPune Labour Commissioner summons TCS over multiple layoff complaints by NITES

BusinessIITF 2025: IT Ministry showcases India's inclusive AI initiatives