The Houseparty app has become a bit of a staple across the world as people attempt to stay in contact with their friends and family during quarantine.
Everyone from your best mate to your mum has probably already had a go, with people playing games from the safety from their own homes.
However, recently there has been some rumours going round that the app has been compromised and leaking people’s data. Earlier this week, the company behind the app, Epic Games, denied this heavily, offering a one million dollar reward (£811,000) to anyone with proof that the rumours were part of a paid commercial smear campaign.
Epic Games, who are also behind the incredibly popular game Fortnite, Tweeted: “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 bounty@houseparty.com.”
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 bounty@houseparty.com.
— Houseparty (@houseparty) March 31, 2020
They added: “All Houseparty accounts are safe – the service is secure, has never been compromised, and doesnt collect passwords for other sites.”
All Houseparty accounts are safe – the service is secure, has never been compromised, and doesnt collect passwords for other sites.
— Houseparty (@houseparty) March 30, 2020
Speaking to Metro, Christoph Hebeisen, director of security intelligence research at cybersecurity specialist company Lookout, said: “There are two separate issues being discussed around Houseparty: First, it appears that many users are not aware of the privacy implications of how the app works and how people can ‘drop-in’ when they dont want or expect them to. This can obviously lead to awkward situations,
“The second issue is the assertion that third-party accounts are being ‘hacked’ through the House Party app. These claims cover a wide variety of third-party services such as music and video streaming services as well as financial services. While there are numerous reports from users online we did not find any evidence to indicate that the HouseParty app as available from official App stores is to blame for compromises they are experiencing.”
Featured image credit: Houseparty