Ah, dear reader, let us delve into a most curious tale, for it involves the whimsical world of romance and a band of intrepid, albeit dubious, adventurers known as ShinyHunters. This collective of crypto swindlers has embarked on a rather audacious escapade, leaking a staggering trove of over ten million user records belonging to those love-seeking souls who dared to tread the digital avenues of Match Group’s beloved dating apps: Match, Hinge, and the ever-quirky OKCupid.
- Our friends at the Lithuanian publication Cybernews, with their investigative zeal, have unearthed a veritable treasure chest of private data, including Hinge match profiles-yes, those charming profiles that one hopes will lead to true love-subscription IDs, and, if you can believe it, even the emails and contracts of employees. One must wonder, do these employees know they are part of such a romantic comedy gone wrong?
- ShinyHunters, notorious for their penchant for extortion and crypto ransoms, previously managed to squeeze six Bitcoin (a rather princely sum of approximately $373,000) out of AT&T, all in exchange for their silence regarding sensitive data. What a delightful plot twist for the corporate world!
- As this pilfered information flutters about the dark web like a moth drawn to a flame, it may very well find its way into the hands of nefarious characters, eager to exploit it for phishing schemes. Ah, the irony of seeking love only to be caught in a web of deceit!
The insidious nature of this leaked data, published with great fanfare upon the group’s dark web blog, includes not just the IDs and IP addresses of the hopeful romantics but also other delicate personal details. Allegedly, this bounty was gleaned through the mobile analytics platform AppsFlyer, which seems to have played an unwitting role in this tragicomedy.
As our diligent friends at Cybernews continued their investigation, they uncovered a range of intimate details from the Hinge match profiles, subscription IDs, and-oh, the scandal-employee emails and contracts! They even stumbled upon records from the Indian dating app Vivald, proving once again that love knows no borders, nor does hacking, it seems. Although the identifiers may be scant, the researchers warned that the very nature of dating app data renders it particularly valuable for crafting targeted scams-one can almost picture the scammers chasing after their unsuspecting victims like a pack of hungry wolves!
Match, Hinge and OKCupid usage data leaked by ShinyHunters
10 million records released
– Dominic Alvieri (@AlvieriD) January 28, 2026
In a delightful twist of fate, ShinyHunters had previously attempted to extract ransom from the French crypto tax firm Waltio over a leak of 50,000 user records, yet Waltio chose to fight back with legal action, proving that sometimes, love-or the defense of one’s data-requires bravery.
In yet another escapade, ShinyHunters claimed credit for infiltrating the United States’ very own Panera Bread, exposing a staggering 14 million records. As this stolen data pirouettes across the dark web, one can only shudder at the prospects: criminals might use it for phishing schemes or, heaven forbid, even physical attacks, while affected users grapple with the fallout of their online romantic pursuits.
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2026-01-29 00:01