4 Billion Users’ Data Leaked from China, WeChat and Alipay Users Most at Risk of Getting Hacked
A big digital data leak has shocked cyber experts around the world. After a 631GB data was found on an open server, it was found that around 4 billion personal records have been exposed. Most of these records belong to Chinese users, but because apps like WeChat and Alipay are used worldwide, this leak could also affect iPhone users globally.
This data was not random. It was part of carefully made collections, including personal details, financial info, and even app usage data. Research shows that the data might have been collected at one place for surveillance, profiling, or to study user behavior.
What Was Found on the Server?
Cybersecurity experts said that the open server had 16 different data sets, each with billions upon billions of records. These sets were named according to their data type, such as:
- wechatid_db – 805 million WeChat IDs
- address_db – 780 million home address records
- bank – 630 million entries with card info, date of birth, phone number, and name
- wechatinfo – 577 million communication-related records
- zfbkt_db – 300 million Alipay card and token records
- Other sets had phone numbers, usernames, and IDs linked together
One of the big data dumps had a name in Mandarin, which means “three-factor verification.” It had 610 million entries.
Why This Data is Useful to Hackers
Such large and well-arranged data is very useful for hackers. Even if they only get access to three of the sets, they can match users’ addresses, spending habits, debts, and identity info. Attacks like phishing, identity theft, fake payments, or blackmail can easily happen with this data.
The data also included gambling records, pension info, job details, and even some Taiwan-related data. This clearly shows that this leak was not by accident, it looks like a part of a surveillance project.
Server Was Taken Down But Owner Is Unknown
Even after many tries, researchers could not find who was behind the data. The server was taken down quickly, and there was no name or info in the server data that could tell who owned it. Because of this, people whose data was leaked cannot contact anyone or file a report.
Timeline Of The Leak
- Leak was found: 19 May 2025
- Server was closed: 20 May 2025
The data was open to the public for 24 hours. In that time, the data could have been copied or misused. Researchers say that the full damage may never be known.
What Should iPhone Users Worry About?
Looking at the kind and amount of data, it is clear that it was collected to monitor or study users. iPhone users in China or users of iOS versions of WeChat and Alipay may also be part of this data dump. In the past, there have been other data leaks where millions of iPhone users were affected.
There Have Been Past Leaks, But This Is the Biggest
China has had many large data leaks in the past. 1.5 billion records from Weibo and Didi, and 62 million iPhone user records were leaked before. But this new leak of 4 billion records is the largest single-source data leak ever found.
This incident is a big warning, no matter which platform you use, if your data is stored without protection, you are not safe. WeChat, Alipay, and other similar apps collect huge amounts of data, which can put your privacy at risk. After this leak, all users should be more careful about how and where their data is used.
With no way to trace the owner, no notice to users, and no safety measures, this leak shows that digital spying is real and no one is completely safe from it.
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