Facebook pays 10-year-old boy $10,000 for finding security bug on Instagram
The social media giant, which owns the image-sharing app, paid the Finnish boy after he found a flaw that allowed him to delete other users’ comments.
A 10-year-old boy from Finland received $10,000 for finding a security flaw in image-sharing app Instagram. The Finnish boy, Jani, who is technically not allowed to create an Instagram account for another three years, found a bug on the app that allowed him to delete comments made by other users. Jani emailed Facebook, which owns Instagram, in February after discovering the flaw, BBC reported.
The tween from Helsinki is now the youngest person to ever receive Facebook’s “bug bounty” prize. The 10-year-old successfully proved his theory, after security engineers at the social media giant set up a test account for him. Facebook said it fixed the bug soon after it was found.
Since 2011, Facebook has paid $4.3 million to hackers who have helped find security loopholes in its apps. Jani told Finnish newspaper Iltalehti that he planned to use his prize money to buy football equipment, a new bike, and computers for his brothers.