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Duolingo data breach

From Breaches, in the HARD wiki · Updated
This article is about the January 2023 breach of Duolingo. For every breach, see Breaches.

The Duolingo data breach exposed 2,676,696 accounts from duolingo.com in January 2023. The data taken includes usernames, names, email addresses and spoken languages.[1]

Have I Been Pwned verified it and added it to its search on 23 Aug 2023, 7 months later. It is the 278th largest of the 618 breaches in HARD’s list.

What was exposed

Duolingo’s breach included 4 kinds of data. What each lets criminals do:

DataWhat it’s used for
UsernamesHalf of a login. With a reused password, it opens other accounts.
NamesMakes scam messages personal enough to believe.
Email addressesExpect scam emails that name the company to look genuine.
Spoken languagesPersonal details that make scam messages more convincing.

What to do

  1. Check whether you’re in it.Search your email address on Have I Been Pwned. It tells you which breaches it appears in, Duolingo among them, without showing the data.
  2. Turn on two-step sign-in.On Duolingo (duolingo.com) and your email, so leaked sign-in details aren’t enough on their own.
  3. Distrust messages that mention Duolingo.Scammers use breach data to sound genuine. Don’t click links in emails or texts about the breach; go to the site yourself.

Timeline

  • : the breach, as best it can be dated.
  • : Have I Been Pwned verifies the data and adds it to its search, 7 months later.

Similar breaches

Breaches that leaked the same kinds of data, closest in time:

See Breaches for all 618, and Updates for keeping your devices patched.

References

  1. ^ Troy Hunt. “Duolingo”, Have I Been Pwned, added 23 Aug 2023. Breach data licensed CC BY 4.0.