TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Instagram says not source of contact info for influential users
Instagram on Thursday said it was not the source of private contact information for millions of influential users of the service recently found in an unguarded online database.
Change Size
The online cache of data, which was discovered by a security researcher, was written about Monday by news site TechCrunch, which reported that it was traced back to Mumbai-based social media marketing firm Chtrbox. (Shutterstock/File)
I
nstagram on Thursday said it was not the source of private contact information for millions of influential users of the service recently found in an unguarded online database.
The online cache of data, which was discovered by a security researcher, was written about Monday by news site TechCrunch, which reported that it was traced back to Mumbai-based social media marketing firm Chtrbox.
"We take any allegation of data misuse seriously," an Instagram spokesperson said May 23.
"Following an initial investigation into the claims made in this story, we found that no private emails or phone numbers of Instagram users were accessed."
In response to an AFP inquiry, Chtrbox said a database for influencers was "inadvertently" exposed for about 72 hours but did not include any sensitive personal information.
Information in the database was compiled from public sources or provided by influencers themselves, according to Chtrbox.
Read also: Online trove of Instagram influencer info unguarded
"No personal data has been sourced through unethical means by Chtrbox," the company said, adding that the database was for internal research use only.
"We have never purchased hacked-data resulting from social media platform breaches," Chtrbox said.
The database was reported to include email addresses and phone numbers as well as public information from account profiles.
The database reportedly lacked a password or encryption, and was said to have more than 49 million records in it before being taken offline after a query was made to Chtrbox.
