200 Million Pornhub Users Exposed After Data Breach

Pornhub has notified more than 200 million premium users that their data, including search history, may have been compromised following a cybersecurity incident involving a third-party analytics provider.

According to the company, hackers claimed to have breached the systems of an external service used by Pornhub to analyse traffic, potentially exposing limited information related to user activity on the platform. The attackers alleged they gained access to extensive datasets containing email addresses, locations, video titles, search keywords, activity types and timestamps linked to over 200 million records, according to reports by BleepingComputer.

Premium subscribers pay $14.99 per month for access to millions of videos, including more than 100,000 exclusive titles not available to free users.

In a statement, Pornhub said: “We were recently informed that an unauthorized party accessed analytics data stored with Mixpanel, a data analytics service provider.” The company clarified that the access was used to extract a limited amount of data relating to certain users.

Pornhub stressed that its own systems were not breached, and that passwords, login credentials, payment details or government-issued identification documents were not exposed. The affected access has since been terminated and the compromised account secured.

Pornhub disclosed the incident on December 12, noting that it is linked to a breach reported in November within Mixpanel’s network. The company added that its partnership with Mixpanel had ended in 2023, meaning any data accessed would date back to that year or earlier.

Mixpanel CEO Jen Taylor said the company had taken extensive measures to contain and eliminate unauthorized access and to secure affected accounts, adding that external cybersecurity experts were engaged as part of the response.

However, Mixpanel told BleepingComputer that it cannot confirm whether the Pornhub-related data circulating online is directly connected to the November incident.

Hackers’ Claims and User Warnings

The cybercrime group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that it holds analytics data related to Pornhub Premium users and citing previous attacks on major technology companies.

Pornhub has contacted affected users and urged them to remain vigilant against potential phishing emails or suspicious messages. In a follow-up statement, the company said: “While our investigation is ongoing, we encourage all users to stay alert and monitor their accounts for any unusual activity.”

The platform confirmed that cybersecurity specialists have been engaged, an internal investigation is under way, and relevant authorities have been notified, reiterating that no passwords or payment information have been compromised.