Social Media Quizzes That Harvest Security Answers
"What's your first car?" "Your elf name is your birth month plus your pet!" How fun quizzes and challenges collect the answers to security questions, and how to join in safely.
"Name your first car, the street you grew up on, and your favourite teacher. Let's see how old everyone is!" These posts spread quickly because they are fun and nostalgic. They also happen to ask for the exact answers many accounts use as security questions.
How quizzes harvest answers
| Quiz or challenge | Security answer it reveals |
|---|---|
| "Your superhero name is your first pet plus your street" | First pet, childhood street |
| "Post a photo of your first car" | First car |
| "Tag your favourite teacher" | School, teacher's name |
| "What year did you graduate?" | Age, school, year |
| "Your birthday plus your favourite colour" | Date of birth |
Combined with your name and friends list, these answers can help someone reset your accounts or pass verification checks. See security questions.
Quiz apps that take more
Some quizzes ask you to "log in with Facebook" or allow access to your profile. That can give the app your profile details, email, friends list or photos. See connected apps.
How to join in safely
- Enjoy the post without answering with real personal history.
- Give joke or made-up answers if you want to take part.
- Avoid quizzes that require logging in or granting access.
- Use random security answers everywhere, stored in a password manager.
A simple rule: if a question could be a security question, do not answer it publicly.
If you already answered
- Change security question answers on email, banking and other important accounts.
- Delete the comment or post.
- Remove quiz apps with access to your account.
Seen a quiz or challenge that feels off? Paste it into CyberWatch AI Scan for a free check.
For more, read about protecting your identity in our complete guide.
Frequently asked questions
Are all social media quizzes dangerous?
No. But quizzes and challenges that ask for personal history, such as first pets, schools, streets or birth dates, can reveal answers to security questions.
What if I already answered one?
Change security question answers on important accounts to random ones, and remove the post or comment if you can.
Can quiz apps access my account?
Some quizzes ask you to connect your social media account, giving the app access to your profile or friends. Remove any you do not need.
Sources
- Social media: how to use it safely, UK National Cyber Security Centre
- Protect Your Personal Information From Hackers and Scammers, US Federal Trade Commission
- NIST SP 800-63B: Authentication and Lifecycle Management, US National Institute of Standards and Technology
