Data breach — January 2022
In January 2022, a vulnerability in Twitter's platform allowed an attacker to build a database of the email addresses and phone numbers of millions of users of the social platform. In a disclosure notice later shared in August 2022, Twitter advised that the vulnerability was related to a bug introduced in June 2021 and that they are directly notifying impacted customers. The impacted data included either email address or phone number alongside other public information including the username, display name, bio, location and profile photo. The data included 6.7M unique email addresses across both active and suspended accounts, the latter appearing in a separate list of 1.4M addresses.
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What happened in the Twitter data breach?
In January 2022, a vulnerability in Twitter's platform allowed an attacker to build a database of the email addresses and phone numbers of millions of users of the social platform. In a disclosure notice later shared in August 2022, Twitter advised that the vulnerability was related to a bug introduced in June 2021 and that they are directly notifying impacted customers. The impacted data included either email address or phone number alongside other public information including the username, display name, bio, location and profile photo. The data included 6.7M unique email addresses across both active and suspended accounts, the latter appearing in a separate list of 1.4M addresses.
The exposed data included 7 types of personal information. Learn more about what a data breach means for you.
Quick answer — was Twitter hacked?
Yes. Twitter was breached in January 2022. The breach exposed 6,682,453 records including bios, email addresses, geographic locations. 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 Twitter breach so dangerous?
The Twitter breach exposed 6,682,453 records — that is 6.7M people whose personal data is now circulating on the dark web. The combination of bios, email addresses, geographic locations 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 Twitter breach?
Bios — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Email addresses — used for phishing attacks and credential stuffing against your other accounts
Geographic locations — 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
Profile photos — 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
Is the Twitter breach still dangerous in 2026?
Yes. Stolen data from the Twitter 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 2022 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 Twitter 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 Twitter breach
Approximately 6,682,453 user records were exposed in the Twitter breach in January 2022.
Yes. Leaked credentials are actively used in credential stuffing attacks years after a breach. If you reused your Twitter 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 Twitter dataset and tell you instantly whether your email was exposed and what data was taken.
Change your Twitter 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 Twitter breach?
The Twitter data breach affected approximately 6,682,453 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 Twitter 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 Twitter breach
Change your Twitter password immediately
Go to Twitter 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 Twitter 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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