Even those who have never heard of Clubhouse are under threat: more than 3.8 billion phone numbers have leaked to the network

The social network Clubhouse, which caused a lot of hype at the beginning of the year, again distinguished itself, but this time it was embroiled in an unpleasant scandal.

According to German sources, citing Swiss information security expert Marc Ruef, the complete database of Clubhouse phone numbers has been discovered put up for sale on the darknet – more than 3.8 billion numbers.

We are talking not only about the numbers of Clubhouse users, but also about their contact lists – this data was synchronized with the service. The database contains numbers of cell phones, landline home phones, both ordinary users and companies. Thus, if you have never even heard of Clubhouse, your phone number may be known to criminals and fraudsters. As proof, the seller published part of the database – 83.5 million phone numbers from Japan.

If the leak is confirmed, then the Clubhouse administration faces serious trouble, since the rules of the European Union on the processing and protection of personal data (General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR) prohibit the collection of information about people who are not users of the service. Penalties for such a violation include removing the application from the App Store and Google Play.

Recall that the Clubhouse social network, which debuted in 2020, with an emphasis on voice communication, has long been officially available only on iOS and by invitation only. Clubhouse gained explosive popularity in early 2021 after it was “advertised” by Elon Musk. The app’s popularity has prompted leading social media and messengers including Facebook, Telegram, Twitter and Instagram to offer their own Clubhouse alternatives. A few days ago, the Clubhouse became available to everyone – invitations are no longer required.