Houseparty is offering $1 million to whoever uncovers evidence of hacking claims

That’s enough to pay people to play Houseparty with you!


The owner of video chat app Houseparty is offering $1,000,000 to whoever can uncover information about a “smear campaign” it says has been started against them.

Yesterday, a series of speculative tweets alleged the app was responsible for leaking users’ data and possibly compromising bank details.

The company has since said there is “no evidence” to suggest a link between Houseparty and the compromise of other unrelated accounts, and claims the speculation came as the result of a “a paid commercial smear campaign”.  The app does not access other apps though users are asked if it can access their contacts and connections on facebook and other social media platforms.

Speculation began yesterday on Twitter with claims the app, which saw a surge in popularity in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, was responsible for several leaks of personal data, prompting many to delete the app entirely.

A spokesperson for the company told The Tab: “We’ve found no evidence to suggest a link between Houseparty and the compromises of other unrelated accounts.

“As a general rule, we suggest all users choose strong passwords when creating online accounts on any platform.

“Use a unique password for each account, and use a password generator or password manager to keep track of passwords, rather than using passwords that are short and simple.”

The company now believes the hysteria was caused by a calculated campaign.

In a statement on Twitter, a spokesperson said: “We are investigating indications that the recent hacking rumors were spread by a paid commercial smear campaign to harm Houseparty.

“We are offering a $1,000,000 bounty for the first individual to provide proof of such a campaign to [email protected].

“We have spent the past few weeks feeling humbled and grateful that we can be such a large part of bringing people together during such a hard time.”

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