Instagram investigates user data mishandling issue

NEW DELHI: A database of millions of Instagram influencer, celebrity and brand accounts containing their personal information including contact details was found freely accessible online as per some news reports and has been traced to Mumbai-based social media marketing firm Chtrbox, but the company in question said reports on leaking of private data were ‘inaccurate.’

News website TechCrunch was the first to report Monday that the database of users on Facebook’s photo-sharing platform, hosted by Amazon Web Services, was found online by a security researcher, left exposed and without a password. It had over 49 million records of Instagram users and was traced back to Chtrbox, the website had stated.