Data breaches → KiwiFarms
Was your data in the KiwiFarms breach?
2019 · kiwifarms.net · ~4,606 accounts exposedHigh severity · 7/10
KiwiFarms (kiwifarms.net) suffered a data breach in 2019 that exposed around 4,606 accounts. If you had an account, some of your personal data may be circulating in leaked databases. The fastest way to know is to check your own email — free, in about 30 seconds, no password required.
What happened
In September 2019, the forum for discussing "lolcows" (people who can be milked for laughs) Kiwi Farms suffered a data breach. The disclosure notice advised that email and IP addresses, dates of birth and content created by members were all exposed in the incident.
Breach details sourced from Have I Been Pwned, the industry-standard breach database. Risk analysis by Nullivo.
What was exposed, and why it matters
Not all breaches carry the same risk — what matters is which fields leaked. Here is what the KiwiFarms breach exposed and what each item actually enables:
Date of birth is a permanent identifier used to verify identity by phone. Combined with a name and address it is often enough to impersonate you.
Puts you on spam and phishing lists, and confirms to attackers that you hold an account with this service — which makes impersonation emails more believable.
Reveals your approximate location and internet provider, which adds credibility to targeted scams.
Also listed in this breach: Avatars, Dates of birth, Email addresses, IP addresses, Website activity.
What to do if you were affected
These steps are ordered for this specific breach — the most urgent action given what leaked comes first.
- Dates of birth: Never confirm your date of birth to an inbound caller — hang up and dial the organisation back on a published number.
- Email addresses: Treat any message referencing this service with suspicion, and never act on links in unexpected emails.
- IP addresses: No direct action needed, but be wary of anyone quoting your location as “proof” of identity.
- Check whether your own email appears in this breach — run a free scan to confirm before you spend time on the steps above.
How urgent is this now?
This breach is over 7 years old. Old credentials still cause harm — leaked passwords from a decade ago are still tried against new accounts every day.
Remember: a breach can't be "un-leaked" — once a database is out, it exists in countless copies. The goal is to make the leaked data useless: change what can be changed, lock down what can't, and remove what has been republished.
Frequently asked questions
What data was exposed in the KiwiFarms breach?
The KiwiFarms breach exposed dates of birth, email addresses, ip addresses. Date of birth is a permanent identifier used to verify identity by phone. Combined with a name and address it is often enough to impersonate you.
How many people were affected by the KiwiFarms breach?
Around 4,606 accounts were exposed, making it a smaller, more targeted breach.
What should I do if I had a KiwiFarms account?
Never confirm your date of birth to an inbound caller — hang up and dial the organisation back on a published number. You can check whether your own email appears in this breach with a free Nullivo scan — no password required.
Breaches that exposed similar data
If the KiwiFarms breach affected you, these breaches exposed comparable information — worth checking too, since leaked datasets are routinely combined.
- Was your data in the Linux Mint breach? (2016, ~144,989 accounts)
- Was your data in the Teracod breach? (2016, ~97,151 accounts)
- Was your data in the GTAGaming breach? (2016, ~197,184 accounts)
- Was your data in the MrExcel breach? (2016, ~366,140 accounts)
- Was your data in the PHP Freaks breach? (2015, ~173,891 accounts)
- Was your data in the The Candid Board breach? (2015, ~178,201 accounts)