Data Breach: This is Why MyFitnessPal Getting Hacked is a Pretty Big Deal

Sometimes we take our email address for granted.

We hear about hackers stealing Social Security numbers and banking information, but we give our email out willy nilly to get a cookie or a free appetizer.

Nothing against free food.  

You never think about the consequences until the sting of the unexpected.

For example, 150 million users of the MyFitnessPal app are feeling said sting after being alerted to a February data security breach that gained access to their email addresses and passwords.

The breach includes user names, email addresses, and hashed passwords. It did not include Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, or other government-issued identifiers … because the app doesn’t collect that info from users.

MyFitnessPal’s parent company, Under Armour, found out about the breach on March 25 and emailed users about it March 29.

Any payment card data was processed separately by Under Armour and was not affected by the MyFitnessPal breach.

You should care because hackers can use or sell email addresses and passwords to gain access to more sensitive information.

In an email MyFitnessPal sent out to its users, the fitness app suggested you “change your password for any other account on which you used the same or similar information used for your MyFitnessPal account.”

I also disconnected the app from my Facebook account, along with about 100 other apps and websites I use Facebook to log in to.

Take simple steps now to protect your privacy and you’ll be at less risk for bigger breaches down the road.

Jen Smith is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder and gives money-saving and debt-payoff tips on Instagram at @savingwithspunk. She spent a lot of time changing passwords today.