Zoosk (2020) data breach

Breach date: 2020-01-12. Added to this index: 2020-08-07. Accounts affected: about 24M. Domain: zoosk.com.

What happened

In January 2020, the online dating service Zoosk suffered a data breach which was subsequently shared extensively across online hacking communities. The breach contained 24 million unique email addresses alongside extensive personal information including genders, sexualities, dates of birth, physical attributes such as height and weight, religions, ethnicities and political views. The breach also allegedly exposed MD5 password hashes, although the data circulating in hacking circles had this field nulled out. The breach was provided to HIBP by breachbase.pw.

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

  • Dates of birth: Your full birth date, day, month and year, collected at signup for age checks, identity verification, insurance quotes, birthday offers or government services.
  • Drinking habits: Answers about alcohol use, such as never, socially or regularly, stored by dating apps, health and fitness apps, insurer questionnaires, surveys, and sometimes treatment or recovery services.
  • Education levels: Your highest qualification, such as high school, a trade certificate, a bachelor's degree or a postgraduate degree, collected by job sites, surveys, dating apps and marketing databases.
  • Email addresses: The email address you used to register or log in. It is the most common field in breaches because it doubles as your username on most sites.
  • Ethnicities: Your recorded ethnic or racial background, often from workplace diversity surveys, health records, government forms, genetic testing services, dating apps and research studies.
  • Family structure: Information about your household, such as the number and ages of children, whether you are a single parent, who lives with you and whether you care for someone, collected by insurers, schools, government services, surveys and marketing databases.
  • Genders: The gender or sex recorded on your profile, usually picked from a list at signup, sometimes with a title such as Mr or Ms or a gender identity option beyond male and female.
  • 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.
  • Income levels: An estimated or self-reported household or personal income band, collected by surveys, lenders, retailers, dating apps and marketing databases.
  • Names: Your first name, surname and sometimes middle name or initials, as you gave them when you signed up. It appears in almost every breach because nearly every account asks for it.
  • Nicknames: An informal name you added to a profile, such as a shortened first name, a childhood name or the name friends use, separate from your username and legal name.
  • Physical attributes: Details describing your body and appearance, such as height, weight, build, eye colour, hair colour and body type, common on dating, fitness and health services.

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 Zoosk (2020) breach?

The Zoosk (2020) breach exposed Dates of birth, Drinking habits, Education levels, Email addresses, Ethnicities, Family structure, Genders, Geographic locations, Income levels, Names, Nicknames, Physical attributes, Political views, Relationship statuses, Religions, Sexual orientations, Smoking habits. About 24M accounts were affected.

Was I affected by the Zoosk (2020) 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 Zoosk (2020) 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