Data of Instagram influencers leaked, traced to India

The database containing 49 million records of several high-profile influencers, including prominent food bloggers, celebrities and other social media influencers were found to be leaked online.

Facebook, which owns Instagram, said it was investigating into the matter. (REUTERS)

Personal data of millions of celebrities and influencers stands exposed on Instagram in a massive database that has been traced to Mumbai-based social media marketing firm Chtrbox, TechCrunch reported on Monday.

The database containing 49 million records of several high-profile influencers, including prominent food bloggers, celebrities and other social media influencers were found to be leaked online.

"Each record contained public data, including bio, profile picture, number of followers they have, location and private contact information," the report claimed. "Shortly after we reached out, Chtrbox pulled the database offline," the report added.

Security researcher Anurag Sen discovered the database and alerted TechCrunch. "We traced the database back to Mumbai-based social media marketing firm Chtrbox, which pays influencers to post sponsored content on their accounts," said the report.

Facebook, which owns Instagram, said it was investigating into the matter.