2018 Email-Digest Log Exposure Linked Current Usernames to Email Addresses

A distinct component of Reddit's 2018 breach was the attacker's access to logs for the site's email-digest feature, specifically the digests sent on June 3 and June 17, 2018. Those logs connected then-current usernames to the email addresses they were sent to, and reflected suggested content from subreddits the users followed. Unlike the decade-old 2007 backup, this data was current, making it directly useful for linking active pseudonymous accounts to real email addresses. Reddit disclosed the email-digest log exposure alongside the broader breach and notified affected users. It reinforced that the breach's most sensitive impact was on user anonymity rather than password security.