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The Real World data breach

From Breaches, in the HARD wiki · Updated
This article is about the November 2024 breach of The Real World. For every breach, see Breaches.

The The Real World data breach exposed 324,382 accounts from therealworld.net in November 2024. The data taken includes usernames, email addresses and chat logs.[1]

Have I Been Pwned verified it and added it to its search on 22 Nov 2024, within a month. It is the 516th largest of the 618 breaches in HARD’s list.

What was exposed

The Real World’s breach included 3 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.
Email addressesExpect scam emails that name the company to look genuine.
Chat logsWhat you wrote, readable by whoever has the data.

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, The Real World among them, without showing the data.
  2. Turn on two-step sign-in.On The Real World (therealworld.net) and your email, so leaked sign-in details aren’t enough on their own.
  3. Distrust messages that mention The Real World.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, within a month.

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. “The Real World”, Have I Been Pwned, added 22 Nov 2024. Breach data licensed CC BY 4.0.