YouNow
MEDIUM RISKData breach — February 2019
In February 2019, data from the live broadcasting service YouNow appeared for sale on a dark web marketplace. Whilst it's not clear what date the actual breach occurred on, the impacted data included 18M unique email addresses, IP addresses, names, usernames and links to social media profiles. As authentication is performed via social providers, no passwords were exposed in the breach. Many records didn't have associated email addresses thus the unique number is lower than the reported total number of accounts.
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What happened in the YouNow data breach?
In February 2019, data from the live broadcasting service YouNow appeared for sale on a dark web marketplace. Whilst it's not clear what date the actual breach occurred on, the impacted data included 18M unique email addresses, IP addresses, names, usernames and links to social media profiles. As authentication is performed via social providers, no passwords were exposed in the breach. Many records didn't have associated email addresses thus the unique number is lower than the reported total number of accounts.
The exposed data included 5 types of personal information. Learn more about what a data breach means for you.
Quick answer — was YouNow hacked?
Yes. YouNow was breached in February 2019. The breach exposed 18,241,518 records including email addresses, ip addresses, names. 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 YouNow breach so dangerous?
The YouNow breach exposed 18,241,518 records — that is 18.2M people whose personal data is now circulating on the dark web. The combination of email addresses, ip addresses, names 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 YouNow breach?
Email addresses — used for phishing attacks and credential stuffing against your other accounts
IP addresses — combined with other data, used for identity theft and physical fraud
Names — used to build profiles and target you with personalised scams
Social media profiles — 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 YouNow breach still dangerous in 2026?
Yes. Stolen data from the YouNow 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 2019 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 YouNow 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 YouNow breach
Approximately 18,241,518 user records were exposed in the YouNow breach in February 2019.
Yes. Leaked credentials are actively used in credential stuffing attacks years after a breach. If you reused your YouNow 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 YouNow dataset and tell you instantly whether your email was exposed and what data was taken.
Change your YouNow 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 YouNow breach?
The YouNow data breach affected approximately 18,241,518 users who had accounts with the service. With 18.2M records exposed, this is one of the larger breaches tracked in our database of 970+ known breaches.
If you ever created an account with YouNow 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 YouNow breach
Change your YouNow password immediately
Go to YouNow 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 YouNow 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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