The makers of the Houseparty video chat app, which has soared in popularity in recent weeks as friends look to stay in touch during lockdown, is strongly denying accusations the service has been compromised by hackers.
Some users are claiming that downloading the app has coincided with a hacking of their data on other services like Spotify and Netflix. Many others are deleting their accounts, and the app itself, from their smartphones as a precaution.
Related: How to delete a Houseparty account
The app, which is owned by Epic Games, took to Twitter to reassure users its service hasn’t been compromised and user’s accounts are safe.
The company behind the app wrote: “All Houseparty accounts are safe – the service is secure, has never been compromised, and doesn’t collect passwords for other sites.”
However, the thread and others are littered with comments from users alleging they fell victim to data breaches on other services, shortly after downloading the application. Users have claimed that services like Netflix, Spotify and PayPal accounts have since fallen victim to hackers.
All that those users have to go on is they recently downloaded the Houseparty app. What appears more likely is the users experiencing hits have used the same password for multiple services.
All Houseparty accounts are safe – the service is secure, has never been compromised, and doesn’t collect passwords for other sites.
— Houseparty (@houseparty) March 30, 2020
Reports on social media suggest that the company is so overwhelmed with emails from users right now that its support inbox is full and currently not accepting new messages. Some of those attempting to delete their account are informed they have an incorrect password when attempting to do so, but we had no problem reaching that stage when going through the process.
Related: How to use Houseparty
If you’re spooked by the unsubstantiated reports, you can delete your account permanently by tapping the smiley-face in the top left corner, hitting the red settings cog, tapping Privacy and selecting Delete Account. You’ll need to input your password and confirm to complete the process. This is something we’re going to keep an eye on, but there’s no evidence Houseparty is responsible for this right now.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
