Instagram data breach
From Breaches, in the HARD wiki · Updated
This article is about the January 2026 breach of Instagram. For every breach, see Breaches.
The Instagram data breach exposed 6,215,150 accounts from instagram.com in January 2026. The data taken includes usernames, email addresses, phone numbers, display names and geographic locations.[1]
Have I Been Pwned verified it and added it to its search on 11 Jan 2026, within a month. It is the 172nd largest of the 618 breaches in HARD’s list.
What was exposed
Instagram’s breach included 5 kinds of data. What each lets criminals do:
| Data | What it’s used for |
|---|---|
| Usernames | Half of a login. With a reused password, it opens other accounts. |
| Email addresses | Expect scam emails that name the company to look genuine. |
| Phone numbers | Expect scam texts and calls, and a higher risk of someone moving your number to their SIM. |
| Display names | Personal details that make scam messages more convincing. |
| Geographic locations | Roughly where you live. |
What to do
- Check whether you’re in it.Search your email address on Have I Been Pwned. It tells you which breaches it appears in, Instagram among them, without showing the data.
- Turn on two-step sign-in.On Instagram (instagram.com) and your email, so leaked sign-in details aren’t enough on their own.
- Distrust messages that mention Instagram.Scammers use breach data to sound genuine. Don’t click links in emails or texts about the breach; go to the site yourself.
- Put a PIN on your phone account.Ask your mobile provider for a port-out PIN, so no one can move your number to their SIM.
Criminals use leaked details like these to make scam texts, emails and calls look real. How to spot the ones that follow a breach like this: Instagram scams.
Timeline
- : the breach, as best it can be dated.
- : Have I Been Pwned verifies the data and adds it to its search, within a month.
Similar breaches
Breaches that leaked the same kinds of data, closest in time:
- Sysco, June 2026, 2.7 million accounts
- JCPenney, June 2026, 368,418 accounts
- Beckett Collectibles, November 2025, 1 million accounts
- The Post Millennial, May 2024, 57 million accounts
- Zacks (2024), June 2024, 12 million accounts
- Spoutible, January 2024, 207,114 accounts
See Breaches for all 618, and Updates for keeping your devices patched.
References
- ^ Troy Hunt. “Instagram”, Have I Been Pwned, added 11 Jan 2026. Breach data licensed CC BY 4.0.
External links
- Have I Been Pwned, to check your email address
- instagram.com, Instagram’s website