Eating habits leaked: what it means and what to do

Risk level: low. Can you change it: no. Found in 1 breaches in this directory.

What this data is

Dietary preferences and eating patterns, such as vegetarian, halal, kosher, gluten free or calorie tracking logs, stored by food delivery, meal kit, fitness and dating apps.

The risk on its own

Low risk for most people. A diet preference cannot log in to anything or prove who you are. Detailed food logs are more personal, but they rarely lead to financial harm.

The risk combined with other data

Tied to your name, some preferences reveal more than taste. Halal or kosher choices can suggest religion, and food logs or allergy notes can point to health conditions such as diabetes, coeliac disease or an eating disorder. For some people that makes the record more sensitive than it first looks.

How criminals use it

  • Meal choices that suggest a religion are used to profile or harass someone.
  • A food tracking history that points to an eating disorder is used to shame or pressure someone.
  • Miracle weight loss product scams are aimed at people who logged calorie goals.

What to do now

  1. Do not worry about basic diet preferences. Focus on the password and payment details from the same breach.
  2. If a food or fitness app logged detailed health information, ask what was exposed and delete old logs you no longer need.
  3. Remove diet, allergy and faith related details from public profiles where they are optional.
  4. Ignore weight loss products advertised to you in emails that seem to know your goals.

Frequently asked questions

Is my diet preference sensitive data?

Usually not. It becomes sensitive when it points to a religion or a health condition.

Why does a delivery app store what I eat?

To recommend restaurants and dishes and to target promotions. Allergy notes are kept so they can be passed to the kitchen.

Should I delete my food tracking history?

If it includes health details you would rather keep private, yes. Deleting it limits what any future breach can expose.

Breaches that exposed this data

  • diet.com: 2014-08-10, 1.4M accounts, Dates of birth, Eating habits, Email addresses, IP addresses, Names, Passwords

Tools that help

Related guides

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.