Ashley Madison
HIGH RISKData breach — July 2015
In July 2015, the infidelity website Ashley Madison suffered a serious data breach. The attackers threatened Ashley Madison with the full disclosure of the breach unless the service was shut down. One month later, the database was dumped including more than 30M unique email addresses. This breach has been classed as "sensitive" and is not publicly searchable, although individuals may discover if they've been impacted by registering for notifications. Read about this approach in detail.
search Check if you were affected — freeData exposed in this breach
What happened in the Ashley Madison data breach?
In July 2015, the infidelity website Ashley Madison suffered a serious data breach. The attackers threatened Ashley Madison with the full disclosure of the breach unless the service was shut down. One month later, the database was dumped including more than 30M unique email addresses. This breach has been classed as "sensitive" and is not publicly searchable, although individuals may discover if they've been impacted by registering for notifications. Read about this approach in detail.
The exposed data included 13 types of personal information. Because passwords were exposed, users who reused their password on other sites are at particular risk. Learn more about what a data breach means for you.
Quick answer — was Ashley Madison hacked?
Yes. Ashley Madison was breached in July 2015. The breach exposed 30,811,934 records including dates of birth, email addresses, ethnicities. This breach has been independently verified. If your email was involved, your data may still be at risk today. Check if you were affected.
Why was the Ashley Madison breach so dangerous?
The Ashley Madison breach exposed 30,811,934 records — that is 30.8M people whose personal data is now circulating on the dark web. The combination of dates of birth, email addresses, ethnicities makes this a high-risk breach that requires immediate action.
Because passwords were exposed, attackers can use credential stuffing to automatically test your Ashley Madison password against hundreds of other websites. If you reused your password anywhere, those accounts are now at risk. Read more about what happens to your data after a breach.
Don't wait to find out — check if your email was exposed in this breach now.
What data was stolen in the Ashley Madison breach?
Dates of birth — used to verify identity for account takeover and fraud
Email addresses — used for phishing attacks and credential stuffing against your other accounts
Ethnicities — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Genders — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Names — used to build profiles and target you with personalised scams
Passwords — can be used to access your accounts directly or cracked to reveal your actual password
Payment histories — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Phone numbers — enables SIM swapping attacks and targeted SMS phishing scams
Physical addresses — combined with other data, used for identity theft and physical fraud
Security questions and answers — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Sexual orientations — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Usernames — used to build profiles and target you with personalised scams
Website activity — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Is the Ashley Madison breach still dangerous in 2026?
Yes. Stolen data from the Ashley Madison breach remains dangerous years after the incident. Research shows that over 65% of stolen credentials from older breaches have never been changed by the account holders. Attackers routinely compile data from multiple breaches to build complete profiles, and credentials from 2015 are still actively used in credential stuffing attacks today.
Personal information like email addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth never expire. Even if you changed your Ashley Madison password, the other exposed data can be combined with information from other breaches to target you. Learn more about how long stolen data stays dangerous.
Frequently asked about the Ashley Madison breach
Approximately 30,811,934 user records were exposed in the Ashley Madison breach in July 2015.
Yes. Leaked credentials are actively used in credential stuffing attacks years after a breach. If you reused your Ashley Madison password elsewhere and haven't changed it, those accounts remain at risk today.
Enter your email in the free checker on EmailLeaked. We scan 12 billion+ breach records including the full Ashley Madison dataset and tell you instantly whether your email was exposed and what data was taken.
Change your Ashley Madison password immediately, change any other account where you used the same password, enable two-factor authentication on all important accounts, and monitor for phishing emails over the next 90 days.
Who was affected by the Ashley Madison breach?
The Ashley Madison data breach affected approximately 30,811,934 users who had accounts with the service. With 30.8M records exposed, this is one of the larger breaches tracked in our database of 970+ known breaches.
If you ever created an account with Ashley Madison or used their services, your data may have been included in this breach. Check your email now to find out. You can also read our guide on what to do immediately after a data breach.
If your email was in the Ashley Madison breach
Change your Ashley Madison password immediately
Go to Ashley Madison and change your password right now. Use a strong, unique password that you have never used anywhere else.
Change any account sharing that password
If you used the same password on other sites, change it on every one of them. Attackers test stolen credentials on hundreds of popular sites within hours.
Enable two-factor authentication
Turn on 2FA on Ashley Madison and every important account. Even if your password is known, attackers cannot get in without the second factor.
Check your other accounts for this breach
Run a full email check to see every breach your email appears in — not just this one.
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