JAKARTA - Antivirus software company Malwarebytes revealed that a data breach had occurred, affecting around 17.5 million Instagram users.
In its statement on X, the company said the data leak included Instagram usernames, physical addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and more.
Cybercriminals stole the sensitive information of 17.5 million Instagram accounts, including usernames, physical addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and more. pic.twitter.com/LXvjjQ5VXL
— Malwarebytes (@Malwarebytes) January 9, 2026
"Cybercriminals stole sensitive information from 17.5 million Instagram accounts, including usernames, physical addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and more," he wrote.
Responding to the issue, Instagram confirmed that no data leak occurred. They stated that the email sent to users was only an external party's mistake.
"We have fixed an issue that allowed external parties to request password reset emails for some people. There was no breach of our systems and your Instagram account is safe," the Meta-owned social media platform wrote.
We fixed an issue that let an external party request password reset emails for some people. There was no breach of our systems and your Instagram accounts are secure.
You can ignore those emails — sorry for any confusion.
— Instagram (@instagram) January 11, 2026
Previously, Malwarebytes reported that the reported data breach resulted in users receiving emails from Instagram asking them to reset their passwords.
The company even added that "the data is available for sale on the dark web and can be misused by cybercriminals."
Malwarebytes noted in an email to its customers that they discovered the breach while conducting a routine dark web scan.
However, Instagram insists that users can ignore the latest email asking for a password reset.
"You can ignore the email - sorry for the confusion," Instagram continued.
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