False Houseparty hacking rumors saw 1 million delete the app last year
What you need to know
- Houseparty is shutting down in October.
- A new report has revealed insight into a hacking scandal last year.
- It says false claims led to 1 million people uninstalling the app.
A new revelation in the wake of Houseparty's announcement that it will shut down next month has revealed 1 million people deleted the app following rumors of a hacking problem last year.
Houseparty announced Thursday that the app would shut down in October:
Millions of people around the world have used Houseparty to connect with their friends and family since the app launched. Today, we’re sharing that we’ve made the decision to discontinue the app in October. ❤️👋
Read more: https://t.co/ZaJO8I1CPo pic.twitter.com/tMMMuViwAmMillions of people around the world have used Houseparty to connect with their friends and family since the app launched. Today, we’re sharing that we’ve made the decision to discontinue the app in October. ❤️👋
Read more: https://t.co/ZaJO8I1CPo pic.twitter.com/tMMMuViwAm— Houseparty (@houseparty) September 9, 2021September 9, 2021
Houseparty said that tens of millions of people had used the app since 2016, and gave no further background as to why it was closing down. However, the announcement has brought some new info to light about a hacking scandal the app went through last year.
Now the BBC's Joe Tidy says that there wasn't a campaign to speak of, that didn't stop 1 million people uninstalling the app:
Now Houseparty is dead, I've got permission to share something insane that an insider told me last March. Remember that viral nonsense about the app 'hacking people's phones'. A classic piece of bs viral misinformation. Well it led to more than 1 MILLION people deleting the app. https://t.co/4kKbdialD1Now Houseparty is dead, I've got permission to share something insane that an insider told me last March. Remember that viral nonsense about the app 'hacking people's phones'. A classic piece of bs viral misinformation. Well it led to more than 1 MILLION people deleting the app. https://t.co/4kKbdialD1— Joe Tidy (@joetidy) September 10, 2021September 10, 2021
Tidy says he found "no evidence of a deliberate smear campaign", save one Scottish woman on Facebook who "wrongly claimed" Houseparty had hacked her phone. Houseparty denied all of the claims at the time and even offered $1 million for proof of a smear campaign against the company. Tidy said the incident "hit the app hard" at a time when it was on a "massive Zoom-like" trajectory, and that whilst it might not have killed the app by itself, it must have been a factor.
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Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design. Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9