MyHeritage data breach (2017): was your email exposed?

MyHeritage (myheritage.com) suffered a data breach in October 2017 that exposed around 92 million accounts. The leaked records included email addresses and passwords. Check whether your email was caught up in it — and lock down your accounts before the data is misused.

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Breach date
2017
Accounts exposed
92 million
Website
myheritage.com

What happened in the MyHeritage breach?

MyHeritage (myheritage.com) was hit by a data breach dated October 2017, exposing around 92 million accounts. Incidents like this happen when attackers break into a company’s user database, or when a misconfigured server or third-party partner leaks it — and the stolen records then spread among other criminals.

The exposed records included email addresses and passwords. Leaked data doesn’t simply disappear: it gets copied, sold and re-posted across breach forums and dark-web markets for years. That’s why your information from the MyHeritage breach can still be abused long after the original incident — and why checking your exposure and locking down your accounts matters even now.

What data was exposed in the MyHeritage breach?

The MyHeritage breach exposed email addresses and passwords. The more of these are tied to you, the more ways an attacker can impersonate you or break into your other accounts.

Email addressesPasswords

How the leaked MyHeritage data can be used against you

Because the MyHeritage breach exposed email addresses and passwords, the leaked passwords let attackers try the same login on your other accounts (credential stuffing), so any site where you reused it is at risk; and your email address becomes a target for convincing phishing, often referencing this very breach to look legitimate.

How to check if you were affected

The leaked records themselves aren’t published openly, so the way to know is to check your email against known breach and dark-web databases. Our free tool does exactly that in a few seconds — no account needed.

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What to do if your MyHeritage account was breached

These steps are prioritized for exactly the kind of data the MyHeritage breach exposed.

1
Change your password — and anywhere you reused it

Reset your MyHeritage password now, and change it on every other account where you used the same one. Reused passwords are how a single breach turns into a chain of account takeovers, so give each important account its own strong password (a password manager makes this painless).

2
Turn on two-factor authentication

Add 2FA — ideally an authenticator app or a passkey rather than SMS — to your email, banking and other important accounts, so a stolen password alone can’t get in.

3
Watch for targeted phishing

Scammers reference real breaches to sound credible, so treat any email mentioning MyHeritage with suspicion, and never use a password-reset link you didn’t request — go to the site directly instead.

4
Monitor whether your data resurfaces

Leaked data is resold for years, so a one-time clean-up isn’t enough. Ongoing breach and dark-web monitoring tells you the moment your details reappear, so you can act before an account is misused.

Common questions

The MyHeritage breach, answered

Was my email in the MyHeritage breach?

You can find out in seconds with our free breach and dark-web check — enter your email and it tells you whether it appears in the MyHeritage breach and other known incidents.

When did the MyHeritage breach happen?

The MyHeritage data breach is dated October 2017 and exposed roughly 92 million accounts. Note that breached data often surfaces and is resold long after the original date.

What data was exposed in the MyHeritage breach?

The exposed records included email addresses and passwords. Around 92 million accounts were affected.

What should I do after the MyHeritage breach?

Change your MyHeritage password and any reused passwords, turn on two-factor authentication, watch for phishing that references MyHeritage, and monitor whether your details resurface on the dark web.

Was your email in the MyHeritage breach?

Check free in about a minute — then we’ll help you remove your exposed data and keep it monitored.

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