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A database containing contact information for millions of Instagram influencers, celebrities and brand accounts has recently been leaked online, according to a source TechCrunch.
The database, hosted by Amazon Web Services and containing over 49 million records, was accessible without a password or other identifying information, according to the security researcher who informed TechCrunch about the leak.
Records include public data extracted from Instagram, such as profile pictures, biographies, and follower numbers, as well as private contact information, such as phone numbers and email addresses.
Records also calculated the "value" of each account based on the number of subscribers, the commitment, the scope, the preferences and the shares.
The database was initially uploaded and shared by the Mumbai-based social media marketing company Chtrbox, which pays Instagram influencers the sponsored content sharing. Although uploaded by Chtrbox, the database contains information from influencers who have never worked with the company.
TechCrunch has found several prominent influencers in the database exposed, including prominent food bloggers, celebrities and other social media influencers.
We randomly contacted several people whose information was found in the database and provided them with their phone numbers. Two of the people responded and confirmed that their email address and phone number in the database had been used to set up their Instagram accounts. Neither one nor the other had any involvement with Chtrbox, they said.
After hearing TechCrunch, Chtrbox has put the database offline, but the company's CEO has not responded to a request for comment on how the data was obtained.
The parent company of Instagram, Facebook, said it was reviewing the issue and was looking to see if the data came from Instagram or other sources. "We are also asking Chtrbox to understand where this data comes from and how it has become publicly available," said Facebook.
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