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We often consider our email addresses quite secure, but this perspective changed after testing a service developed by a cybersecurity expert.
Every year, millions of email addresses end up in hacked databases. We might not even realize it until a website explicitly informs us. We explored one of these services, designed to reveal whether our personal information has been compromised. The findings were certainly eye-opening.
By simply entering a Gmail address into this platform, the response was immediate: seven breaches noted over recent years. The most recent occurred in 2024, linked to a breach at Notsocradar. Before that, the data had been compromised during incidents at Twitter in 2021, Canva and Deezer in 2019, and then at 8fit, Shein, and Romwe in 2018. In essence, this long-used email address has been repeatedly compromised across various services at different times. To see if this was a recurring issue, we tested another email address, this time hosted on Hotmail. This revealed six breaches, including Tumblr and Dailymotion, along with other services that were never used.
The alarming part is that many service names are unrecognizable. Some platforms were completely unfamiliar, yet the address was listed—indicating that leaks often involve accounts that were not intentionally created by the user. Data can be sold, transferred, or aggregated by affiliated platforms. Moreover, these lists freely circulate information such as email addresses, passwords, and occasionally other personal details. It’s unsettling to think that our credentials could appear where we’ve never even visited, yet this is a common occurrence. In such cases, massive data breaches sweep up millions of accounts indiscriminately, before the data is traded or resold.
The tool we used is called Have I Been Pwned. Developed by cybersecurity researcher Troy Hunt, it catalogs billions of identifiers from public breaches. Recognized for its reliability and free of charge, it is currently one of the most dependable ways to check if an email has been exposed.
In response to growing user concerns, Google has issued several security recommendations, including enabling two-factor authentication and immediate password changes for compromised accounts. Security experts echo this advice: use a unique password for each service, avoid obvious combinations, and enable two-step verification. These practices can mitigate the impacts of a data breach. Keep this in mind!
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Felix Marlowe manages Belles and Gals’ vibrant social media platforms. With expertise in social engagement and viral marketing, Felix creates content that sparks conversation and keeps followers coming back for more. From celebrity news to trending challenges, Felix makes sure our social media stays at the forefront of pop culture.
