Over 1.75 crore Instagram users have had their personal information exposed, now reportedly in the hands of cybercriminals. A report from cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes revealed that the leaked data includes usernames, phone numbers, email addresses, and home addresses.
The company warned that this information is being sold on the dark web, raising the risk of phishing attacks and account hacks. Data leak due to security breach in 2024 Malwarebytes informed its customers via email that this leak was caught in their routine dark web scan. It is linked to Instagram’s API (Application Programming Interface, which connects apps to each other) in 2024. The company stated that cyber criminals can harm users with this data.
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India could be the most affected According to Statista, India has the highest number of Instagram users, with 480 million users by October 2025. Facebook and WhatsApp also have over 500 million users here, making it Meta’s largest market. The leaked data may also contain information about Indian users, which could increase the threat to Indian users. How can hackers use this data? This leak will not be limited to Instagram only. Experts have warned that hackers can use the leaked credentials (login details) for:
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Meta denied data breach allegations
Meta’s spokesperson has denied the data breach. They said we have fixed an issue that allowed an external party to request password reset emails for some Instagram users. There has been no data breach in our systems and people’s Instagram accounts are secure.
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