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Can public data be leaked?

Clubhouse is just the latest of many social platforms hit by hackers to leak their (well, actually their users) data. These platforms are good at harvesting the personal information of millions of users. It's a convenient way for them to deny any data leaks or getting hacked by just claiming the data was public anyway. They really should respect that data and their users better.

A single user's data isn't important in this sense. It's probably available for all just by looking at their profile. But harvesting millions of those profiles along with all the social connections and content they have is a valuable source of information that can also be used for malicious purpose.

These companies also make it hard for their users to understand what of their data will be publicly available. Encouraging to share personal information should clearly state whether that data will be openly available to everyone. Any public data on those services should be trea