Data Leak Exposes 235M TikTok, Instagram, YouTube Profiles: What You Need To Know

There has been a colossal social media data leak involving three platforms and millions of users.

Comparitech’s research team revealed a recent social media data leak exposed nearly 235 million Instagram, TikTok and YouTube profiles, Forbes reported. The massive social media data leak was allegedly due to an unsecured database. 

It has been reported that there has been a flurry of account data made available on dark web cybercrime online forums, according to Forbes. An audit suggests there may be 15 billion user accounts that have been stolen from 100,000 social media data leaks and that a cyber hacker is giving away 386 million breached social media accounts for free. 

Not all of these supposedly stolen social media accounts have been “hacked,” but instead were left open to vulnerability by an unsecured database. 

Comparitech said the database handled by Social Data was left vulnerable due to a lack of password protection or authentication methods, according to the Independent. Comparitech alleges that the company accountable for the leak was a now-closed company called Deep Social. 

Social Data’s leak included a copious amount of user data.

Allegedly, the stolen data consists of usernames, full given names, profile pictures, account or biographical information, age and gender, the Independent reported.

Furthermore, the social media data leak contained detailed information about users’ audience and followers, including audience location, age and gender, likes, follow growth rate, and more.

Every breached record included some of these identifying factors, while some included all of them. Comparitech says its research into the social media data leak shows approximately 1 in 5 accounts had their telephone numbers or emails stolen.

When Comparitech was informed about the social media data leak, it notified Social Data, according to the Independent. Social Data’s chief technology officer allegedly accepted the exposure notice and removed the servers within three hours.

Social Data denies any link to Deep Social.

Think You May Have Been Affected?

Many social media users may be wary of their information potentially floating around the dark web.

If you are concerned about the Social Data leak, there are some steps to take to protect yourself and your account. You may not know if you were one of the 235 million users affected by Social Data’s leak, but you can safeguard your information nonetheless.

If you are a user of Instagram, TikTok or YouTube, be particularly aware of phishing emails or suspicious social media comments, Lifehacker warns. Do not respond to suspicious activity. 

It is also a good idea to go update account security settings.

Changing your password is an excellent way to feel safer following the leak.

If you feel like too much of your information is on social media, you can make some of it anonymous or private.

It’s important to note the database includes private accounts, so making your entire account private does not safeguard you from social media data leaks, according to Lifehacker. But the more public you are online, the more security is necessary. 

You might think your first name being involved in a data leak is no big deal, but if hackers match your name to an email or phone number, that could be a cause for concern. 

Leaks such as the Social Data’s unsecured database leak are random and unpredictable. Social media users can not control these data breaches, but it’s up to users to help keep their data safe to the best of their ability. 

Forgo putting all of your personal information online, and make sure information such as email addresses or birthdays are not publicly visible.

Experts say that the less real information about yourself is online, the better. 

Are you an Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube user? Are you concerned about the data leak? Let us know in the comments.

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