Hey guys, I haven't seen anyone who I'm following cover this yet and that's fucking dumb. Wattpad was breached like last month and they barely told us, so I want to give you guys some safety tips.
First off, I recommend going to haveibeenpwned.com to see if your email has been breached. Then, you should go through and change all your passwords for EVERYTHING, I suggest having a notebook for this.
When coming up with a password, don't be predictable. Don't use your pet's name or anything that someone could guess from your media accounts. I also suggest using a lot of numbers in it. Just get weird with it. Make sure to use different passwords for every account.
Next off, for your email addresses you should go through and set up two-step verification. I'm not sure exactly how many media's have this, but I know that Gmail does. I don't recommend using your phone number as a backup verification, using the codes is just more secure. You should write the codes down with your new passwords.
And last but not least, make sure to remove or change sensitive information on your accounts. For example, if I put male on my Gmail account I'll change it to female. Change your age on there if you can. I also recommend not using your real name for things.
Now, for what I know about the breach. Really sensitive information was leaked and sold on dark web sites. Now don't get too spooked, the dark web is just below the surface web. Pretty much anyone can access it, not just some cReEpY hackers. Also, stories from 2017 and before were sold as well. So I guess they're going to see my Lumberjack x Tree smut, totally embarrassing.
All jokes aside, this is a really serious situation. I've seen people deleting their accounts but I'm not exactly sure if that's necessary. Going through and changing all your passwords and security questions should be good enough. Also, practicing password hygiene would be a good idea right about now.
Password hygiene is changing your password regularly and not using the same password for everything. By regularly I'd say about once a month or so. Checking that website from earlier can help too, since it shows you how many times you've been breached. Making password hygiene a habit from now on would be within your best interests as an internet user.
By the way, you should check your settings to see if you can opt out of Wattpad selling your information. This option could also be on Instagram depending on your location.
If your Wattpad is attached to a Facebook account, I recommend just making a new email and starting over with a new account. Delete the account that's attached to Facebook, all accounts attached to Wattpad have likely been leaked.
When making a new email, I'd suggest just using fake information and not attaching your phone number to it. Also, having a backup Wattpad account would come in handy with breaches. The backup should be clean, fake email and everything.
In conclusion, don't worry too much. If you've followed all the security measures you can and keep up with it, everything should be fine. However, fuck Wattpad. The breach happened in June, we barely found out a couple days ago. IN JULY. I didn't even find out from Wattpad because they didn't email me, I found out from TikTok and Twitter.
This is a sensitive situation and they just didn't inform anyone. Personal information and logins were leaked and nobody was told for a month. A MONTH. Oh the fuckers. I'll be making a backup account soon, by the way. Just in case. Also expect an ao3 account and reposts of my work on there and my Tumblr.
My Tumblr is lilyolks, I have yet to post a full fic on there but I will soon. Take care, you guys.
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Might go to Heaven || Plague Doctor × Reader
RomanceY/N has lived on her own in a small impoverished town for the past few years. Everything felt normal until one morning where she fell tearfully ill, seeking out a medic of some sort may have been her best or worst decision ever. Only time will tell.
