LiveJournal
HIGH RISKData breach — January 2017
In mid-2019, news broke of an alleged LiveJournal data breach. This followed multiple reports of credential abuse against Dreamwidth beginning in 2018, a fork of LiveJournal with a significant crossover in user base. The breach allegedly dates back to 2017 and contains 26M unique usernames and email addresses (both of which have been confirmed to exist on LiveJournal) alongside plain text passwords. An archive of the data was subsequently shared on a popular hacking forum in May 2020 and redistributed broadly.
search Check if you were affected — freeData exposed in this breach
What happened in the LiveJournal data breach?
In mid-2019, news broke of an alleged LiveJournal data breach. This followed multiple reports of credential abuse against Dreamwidth beginning in 2018, a fork of LiveJournal with a significant crossover in user base. The breach allegedly dates back to 2017 and contains 26M unique usernames and email addresses (both of which have been confirmed to exist on LiveJournal) alongside plain text passwords. An archive of the data was subsequently shared on a popular hacking forum in May 2020 and redistributed broadly.
The exposed data included 3 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 LiveJournal hacked?
Yes. LiveJournal was breached in January 2017. The breach exposed 26,372,781 records including email addresses, passwords, usernames. 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 LiveJournal breach so dangerous?
The LiveJournal breach exposed 26,372,781 records — that is 26.4M people whose personal data is now circulating on the dark web. The combination of email addresses, passwords, usernames makes this a high-risk breach that requires immediate action.
Because passwords were exposed, attackers can use credential stuffing to automatically test your LiveJournal 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 LiveJournal breach?
Email addresses — used for phishing attacks and credential stuffing against your other accounts
Passwords — can be used to access your accounts directly or cracked to reveal your actual password
Usernames — used to build profiles and target you with personalised scams
Is the LiveJournal breach still dangerous in 2026?
Yes. Stolen data from the LiveJournal 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 2017 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 LiveJournal 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 LiveJournal breach
Approximately 26,372,781 user records were exposed in the LiveJournal breach in January 2017.
Yes. Leaked credentials are actively used in credential stuffing attacks years after a breach. If you reused your LiveJournal 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 LiveJournal dataset and tell you instantly whether your email was exposed and what data was taken.
Change your LiveJournal 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 LiveJournal breach?
The LiveJournal data breach affected approximately 26,372,781 users who had accounts with the service. With 26.4M records exposed, this is one of the larger breaches tracked in our database of 970+ known breaches.
If you ever created an account with LiveJournal 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 LiveJournal breach
Change your LiveJournal password immediately
Go to LiveJournal 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 LiveJournal 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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