Instagram have admitted that a bug was behind the hack that allowed some weirdos to log in to Selena Gomez‘s account and post naked photos of her ex-boyfriend, Justin Bieber.
The social media platform says the hackers targeted high-profile accounts and, well, you don’t get any higher than the most-followed one of the lot, clocking in at 125 million followers.
Gomez’s account was shut down soon after the hack became apparent and has since been returned to the singer.
“We recently discovered that one or more individuals obtained unlawful access to a number of high-profile Instagram users’ contact information — specifically email address and phone number — by exploiting a bug in an Instagram API,” said Instagram.
An API is basically linking software that allows outside applications to access the platform. As such, the hackers didn’t get a hold of any passwords, but were still able to access the account. Instagram say they’ve now fixed the bug and are “running a thorough investigation”.
“Our main concern is for the safety of our community and, out of an abundance of caution, we are reaching out to all verified accounts,” it said.
While the platform acknowledge the attack was clearly targeted at accounts with huge amounts of followers, you should still keep an eye out for unrecognised incoming calls, texts and emails, even if you’re an Insta pleb.
The photos of old mate Bieber were the heavily circulated ones of him walking around naked outside a terrace in Bora Bora in 2015, just in case you were hoping for fresh schlong pics, you creep.
The internet is a dangerous place, folks. Stay safe online.
