Snapchat data breach

Breach date: 2014-01-01. Added to this index: 2014-01-02. Accounts affected: about 4.6M. Domain: snapchat.com.

What happened

In January 2014 just one week after Gibson Security detailed vulnerabilities in the service, Snapchat had 4.6 million usernames and phone number exposed. The attack involved brute force enumeration of a large number of phone numbers against the Snapchat API in what appears to be a response to Snapchat's assertion that such an attack was "theoretical". Consequently, the breach enabled individual usernames (which are often used across other services) to be resolved to phone numbers which users usually wish to keep private.

Breach data sourced from Have I Been Pwned, used under CC BY 4.0. Additional breach metadata provided by XposedOrNot. DataExposed is an independent service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by either.

What was exposed

  • Geographic locations: A general location recorded on your account, such as a country, state, city, postcode or region, either typed in by you or estimated from your IP address.
  • Phone numbers: Your mobile or landline number, collected at signup for contact, delivery updates, marketing and two-factor codes.
  • Usernames: The handle or login name you chose for an account, which may be public on forums, games and social platforms or used privately to sign in.

What to do now

  1. Check whether your own address is in this dataset with the free email breach check.
  2. Review the accounts connected to this service and turn on two-factor authentication.
  3. Turn on two-factor authentication on your email account first, because it is the reset path for everything else.
  4. Treat calls and messages that quote real details about you as hostile until you verify them another way.

Frequently asked questions

What data was leaked in the Snapchat breach?

The Snapchat breach exposed Geographic locations, Phone numbers, Usernames. About 4.6M accounts were affected.

Was I affected by the Snapchat breach?

Run the free email breach check with the address you used on that service. It will tell you whether your address appears in this dataset.

What should I do about the Snapchat breach?

Treat any message that quotes details from this breach as suspicious, turn on two-factor authentication, and consider removing your details from people-search sites if your address or phone was included.

Next steps