Been asked to reset your Instagram password? Company denies data breach reports after users bombarded with request emails

• Meta says Instagram password reset emails were triggered by error, not a breach of systems
• Malwarebytes reported 17.5 million account details leaked, possibly from past API incidents (2022 or 2024)
• Hackers sharing authentic data heightens phishing risks; users advised to verify info directly on Meta sites

Some Instagram users have received password reset emails without requesting them - but the company says it hasn't experienced a data breach.

Parent company Meta has issued a statement saying this was not a data breach, and that the accounts were not at risk, at all. Instead, it claims this was an error that allowed third parties to trigger password reset emails, and that is all.

"We fixed an issue that allowed an external party to request password reset emails for some Instagram users," a Meta spokesperson said. "We want to reassure everyone there was no breach of our systems and people's ...