Wattpad, the Toronto-based storytelling platform popular with teens and young adults, suffered a data breach in June 2020 that exposed approximately 268.8 million user records. An unauthorized party accessed and exfiltrated the data through a misconfiguration. The stolen database was initially sold privately before being posted to a public hacking forum, where it was shared widely. The breach exposed an unusually broad set of personal information: names, usernames, email addresses, passwords, dates of birth, genders, geographic locations, IP addresses, profile bios, social media profiles, and personal website URLs. Passwords were stored as bcrypt hashes, a relatively strong encryption format, but the combination of birth dates, location data, and account credentials creates serious risk for younger users in particular. For a platform whose audience skews toward teenagers and young adults, the exposure of birthdates alongside identifying profile information is especially sensitive. Wattpad notified affected users and prompted password resets following the incident. No major regulatory enforcement or legal settlement specific to this breach has been publicly documented. Affected users face ongoing risks of account takeover, particularly if they reused their Wattpad password on other services. The richness of the exposed dataset also makes it useful for phishing and social engineering attacks, so users should treat any unsolicited contact referencing their Wattpad account or personal details with caution.

Online writing and reading communities store user accounts, emails, passwords, and user-generated content tied to identity and interests.

Following Naver's 2021 acquisition, Wattpad has been integrated into a broader content and IP strategy alongside Naver's webtoon operations, reflecting the parent company's interest in global digital storytelling platforms. The company has continued developing its paid content and story monetization features. Wattpad Studios, the division that adapts platform stories into produced content, has remained active.