Flickr Discloses Potential Data Exposure Following Third-Party Email Provider Vulnerability
Published
Key Takeaways
- Third-Party Vulnerability: A security flaw in one of Flickr's third-party email service providers could have led to a data breach, exposing user information.
- Exposed Information: Possibly compromised data includes real names, email addresses, and IP addresses, but not passwords or payment details.
- Company Response: Flickr stated it shut down access to the affected system within hours of being notified on February 5, 2026, and is now investigating the incident.
The photo-sharing platform Flickr has begun notifying users about a potential security incident that may have exposed their personal information. The Flickr data breach was caused by a security flaw discovered within a system operated by one of the company's third-party email service providers.Â
The company has not yet disclosed which service provider was involved or the total number of users affected by the incident.
Scope of User Information Exposure
Flickr said a vulnerability in a system operated by a third-party email service provider may have allowed unauthorized access to some user information. The user information exposure includes:
- Names,Â
- Email addresses,Â
- Flickr usernames,Â
- Account types,Â
- IP addresses,Â
- General location data.Â
Additionally, user activity on the platform was among the compromised information. Flickr has explicitly stated that more sensitive credentials, such as account passwords and payment card numbers, were not exposed in this security event.Â
Flickr was alerted to the vulnerability on February 5, 2026, according to notifications sent to users, and took action to shut down access to the compromised system within hours to mitigate further exposure.Â
Cybersecurity for Photo-Sharing Platforms
While Flickr itself was not directly breached, a supply chain weakness created a significant security risk for its users. In response, Flickr has committed to conducting a thorough investigation, strengthening its system architecture, and enhancing its monitoring of third-party providers.Â
The company is urging affected users to remain vigilant against phishing attempts that may exploit the leaked data.
In other recent news, 1.4 million Betterment email addresses were exposed following a third-party breach, and the Marquis data breach was linked to the SonicWall hack.
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