31 March 2020

Houseparty offers $1 million for evidence of smear campaign which raised 'hacking' fears

The owners of social media app 'Houseparty' have offered a reward of $1million to anyone who can provide evidence to prove the video messaging app was victim of a smear campaign.

On Monday, users started to claim that other apps such as Spotify and Netflix had locked them out after they downloaded Houseparty and some even said the same for their bank accounts.

The app does not ask for access to these but it does request permission to connect to users' friends on Facebook and Snapchat in order to suggest friends.

Concerned users encouraged each other to remove the app as well as clear any data associated with it, but some claimed they were denied access to delete it.

Epic Games, which owns the app, said in a statement: "We've found no evidence to suggest a link between Houseparty and the compromises of other unrelated accounts,

"As a general rule, we suggest all users choose strong passwords when creating online accounts on any platform."

The app has become more popular since the introduction of social distancing measures as people across the world seek alternative ways of keeping in touch.

It enables group video chatting through mobile and desktop apps, where users receive a notification when friends are online and available for a group video chat.

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