RankWatch
MEDIUM RISKData breach — November 2016
In approximately November 2016, the search engine optimisation management company RankWatch exposed a Mongo DB with no password publicly whereupon their data was exfiltrated and posted to an online forum. The data contained 7.4 million unique email addresses along with names, employers, phone numbers and job titles in a table called "us_emails". When contacted and advised of the incident, RankWatch would not reveal the purpose of the data, where it had been acquired from and whether the data owners had consented to its collection. The forum which originally posted the data explained it as being "in the same vein as the modbsolutions leak", a large list of corporate data allegedly used for spam purposes.
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What happened in the RankWatch data breach?
In approximately November 2016, the search engine optimisation management company RankWatch exposed a Mongo DB with no password publicly whereupon their data was exfiltrated and posted to an online forum. The data contained 7.4 million unique email addresses along with names, employers, phone numbers and job titles in a table called "us_emails". When contacted and advised of the incident, RankWatch would not reveal the purpose of the data, where it had been acquired from and whether the data owners had consented to its collection. The forum which originally posted the data explained it as being "in the same vein as the modbsolutions leak", a large list of corporate data allegedly used for spam purposes.
The exposed data included 5 types of personal information. Learn more about what a data breach means for you.
Quick answer — was RankWatch hacked?
Yes. RankWatch was breached in November 2016. The breach exposed 7,445,067 records including email addresses, employers, job titles. 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 RankWatch breach so dangerous?
The RankWatch breach exposed 7,445,067 records — that is 7.4M people whose personal data is now circulating on the dark web. The combination of email addresses, employers, job titles makes this a medium-risk breach that should be addressed promptly.
Don't wait to find out — check if your email was exposed in this breach now.
What data was stolen in the RankWatch breach?
Email addresses — used for phishing attacks and credential stuffing against your other accounts
Employers — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Job titles — 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
Phone numbers — enables SIM swapping attacks and targeted SMS phishing scams
Is the RankWatch breach still dangerous in 2026?
Yes. Stolen data from the RankWatch 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 2016 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 RankWatch 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 RankWatch breach
Approximately 7,445,067 user records were exposed in the RankWatch breach in November 2016.
Yes. Leaked credentials are actively used in credential stuffing attacks years after a breach. If you reused your RankWatch 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 RankWatch dataset and tell you instantly whether your email was exposed and what data was taken.
Change your RankWatch 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 RankWatch breach?
The RankWatch data breach affected approximately 7,445,067 users who had accounts with the service. While not the largest breach on record, it still represents a significant number of compromised accounts in our database of 970+ known breaches.
If you ever created an account with RankWatch 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 RankWatch breach
Change your RankWatch password immediately
Go to RankWatch 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 RankWatch 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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