Instagram user information gets leaked by a Facebook bug found during a test. The concerned authorities of Facebook fixed the bug within a few hours of being reported.
While using the internet putting personal information has always been a risk for the users. Hackers keep looking for a loophole to exploit it for its personal gain. A similar situation was sighted when Instagram users information got leaked through a Facebook bug.
Recently a security researcher Saugat Pokharel found a Facebook bug that could put Instagram user personal information on stake. It came to knowledge through the researcher that the Facebook bug put the personal information of Instagram users at stake. The company were in the middle of testing a feature which would enable business accounts to link to Instagram and view someone’s alleged private information by using the Business Suite tool.
The Verge gave the news that the researcher found that the bug could be used by attackers to attain personal information like birthdays, addresses etc of private accounts or accounts that not allow DM’s from the public. If an account did not accept DMs, the user potentially would not receive any notification indicating their profile may have been viewed.
The hackers just had to simply send a direct message on Instagram to attain the information. By doing this a person’s additional information showed up alongside any direct messages. This information is supposed to stay private as per Instagram policy.
However, the authorities of Facebook gave the most appropriate reaction by immediately troubling shoot the bug. Facebook notified the users that the information was not abused by anyone during the period when the problem existed. It happened when the feature was under test. The researcher also backed that the bug was removed by the Facebook within the hours of being notified.