OpenAI Mixpanel Breach 2025: What Really Happened Explained
Hoplon InfoSec
28 Nov, 2025
OpenAI said in November 2025 that hackers got into Mixpanel, a third-party analytics partner the company used. Reports say that the data that was made public only included some API users' limited analytics and profile information. OpenAI wants to make it clear that ChatGPT users, their chats, passwords, and payment information were not affected.
This article explains what we know for sure, what was revealed, what is still safe, and what you should do now if you use OpenAI's API.
What happened was a breach at Mixpanel, not OpenAI.
The timeline of the breach and what was revealed
On November 9, 2025, Mixpanel found that someone had gotten into some of its systems without permission. An attacker took a dataset that only had a small amount of analytics customer data.
OpenAI was told by Mixpanel, and on November 25, the analytics company told OpenAI about the affected dataset.
OpenAI's disclosure says that the exposed data may include:
• Names linked to API accounts
• Email addresses used for API accounts
• Approximate location based on browser metadata (city, state, or country)
• Browser and operating system (OS) used to access the API account
• Referring to website information and organization or user IDs linked to the API account
It's important to note that chat messages, API requests or responses, API usage data, passwords, API keys, payment information, government IDs, session tokens, or other sensitive credentials were not made public.
OpenAI's answer and taking Mixpanel down
As soon as OpenAI found out about the breach, it took Mixpanel out of its production environment.
They are doing a wider security review of all vendors and raising the security standards for partners to avoid future risks.
OpenAI also started to directly tell the organizations, account admins, and users who were affected. Their goal is to be open and watch for any signs of abuse.
What this means: safe vs. exposed
• You are safe as long as you only use ChatGPT and not the API. OpenAI said that ChatGPT users were not affected. Sensitive information like chats, payment information, API keys, passwords, and credentials is still safe.
• The names, email addresses, rough location, browser/OS info, and other data that were leaked are not very sensitive. Even so, the information that was exposed could be used for phishing or social engineering.
You might be affected if you used OpenAI's API. There's no proof that your personal data or conversations were compromised if you only used ChatGPT or other consumer products.
What you should do now: practical steps to stay safe
OpenAI's own advice gives a clear list of things to do to stay safe.
• Be careful with any emails or messages that you didn't expect to get that say they are
from OpenAI, especially if they have links or attachments.
• Before you do anything, make sure that any email is really from an official OpenAI domain.
• Don't give out your API key, password, or verification codes when someone asks for them by email or text. OpenAI says they won't ask for these over email or text.
• If you can, turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA) for your account to make it even safer.
These are easy but helpful steps. They are very important for API users whose names and email addresses may have been made public.
Important Insights
What was done correctly
• The breach only affected a third-party provider (Mixpanel), not OpenAI's main infrastructure. That helped keep the damage to a minimum.
• No one ever touched sensitive information like passwords, chats, payment information, or API keys.
• OpenAI acted quickly by taking Mixpanel down, letting affected users know, and promising to do a security review of all vendors.
• Openness: OpenAI made the breach public and gave details about what was exposed.
What still worries me
• Phishing and social engineering can happen with even small amounts of data, like a name, email address, or location. This kind of metadata leak is still dangerous.
• Using third-party analytics added a risk to the supply chain because it depended on outside services that could be attacked.
• Uncertainty: OpenAI hasn't said how many users (or organizations) were affected. We don't know how many people were affected.
• API, this incident is a wake-up call: third-party tools can make security weaker, even if the main platform is secure.
Common Questions
Did someone hack ChatGPT in this case?
No. The breach only happened at Mixpanel, which is a third-party analytics company. OpenAI's systems and ChatGPT users were not affected.
What information was made public?
Names, email addresses, approximate location (city, state, country), browser and operating system used, information about the website that linked to the API accounts, and user or organization IDs linked to API accounts.
Did passwords, chats, and payment information get out?
No. There was no exposure of passwords, API keys, payment information, chat logs, API usage data, or authentication credentials.
What can I do to keep myself or my team safe?
Be careful with emails that say they are from OpenAI, but you didn't expect them. Turn on multi-factor authentication. Don't send sensitive information by email or text.
Finish up
The 2025 OpenAI Mixpanel breach/ ChatGPT Mixpanel hack shows that even third-party services that you trust can be a weak link. A smishing attack on Mixpanel in this case put some OpenAI API users' limited analytics data at risk.
The good news is that ChatGPT users' passwords, chat histories, API keys, and payment information are all still safe. OpenAI moved quickly by ending the Mixpanel integration, letting affected users know, and promising better vendor security.
If you use OpenAI's API, be on the lookout for phishing attempts and turn on multi-factor authentication. For now, you can relax if you only use ChatGPT. But let this incident be a lesson: even small metadata leaks can be dangerous, and online security depends on more than just the main platforms. It also depends on the vendors or services they use.
I can also write you a short alert that you can copy and paste to let your team or community know about this. It's simple and focused on action.
You can also read these important cybersecurity news articles on our website.
· Apple Update,
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Author: Hoplon Infosec
Bio: Security enthusiast with over 10 years in mobile cybersecurity. Connect with me on LinkedIn.
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