How to Check for Email Breaches Programmatically (Free API, No Key)

CodeLong888 — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 20:00:23 +0000

The Problem

You're building an app and need to warn users if their email has been compromised in a data breach. The options are:

HaveIBeenPwned API: Requires a paid API key ($3.50/month)
Build your own: You'd need to aggregate breach databases yourself
HackMyIP Breach API: Free, no key, JSON response

I built the third option. Here's how to use it.

Quick Start

curl "https://hackmyip.com/api/breach?email=test@example.com"

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "email": "tes***@example.com",
    "breaches": 13,
    "services": ["Adobe", "Canva", "LinkedIn", "Dropbox", ...],
    "risk": {
      "score": 71,
      "level": "high"
    },
    "passwords": {
      "plain_text": 3,
      "weak_hash": 2,
      "strong_hash": 5,
      "total": 10
    }
  }
}

No API key. No signup. No rate limits for reasonable use.

JavaScript Example

async function checkBreach(email) {
  const response = await fetch(
    `https://hackmyip.com/api/breach?email=${encodeURIComponent(email)}`
  );
  const { data } = await response.json();

  if (data.breaches > 0) {
    console.log(`⚠️ Found in ${data.breaches} breaches!`);
    console.log(`Risk level: ${data.risk.level}`);
    console.log(`Affected services: ${data.services.join(', ')}`);

    if (data.passwords?.plain_text > 0) {
      console.log(`🚨 ${data.passwords.plain_text} passwords stored in plain text!`);
    }
  } else {
    console.log('✅ No breaches found');
  }
}

checkBreach('user@example.com');

Python Example

import requests

def check_breach(email):
    resp = requests.get(f"https://hackmyip.com/api/breach?email={email}")
    data = resp.json()["data"]

    print(f"Breaches: {data['breaches']}")
    print(f"Risk: {data['risk']['level']} ({data['risk']['score']}/100)")

    if data["passwords"]:
        print(f"Plain text passwords: {data['passwords']['plain_text']}")

    return data

check_breach("user@example.com")

All Available Endpoints

HackMyIP isn't just breach checking. It's a full privacy API:

Endpoint	Description	Auth
`GET /api/breach?email=x`	Email breach check (500+ databases)	None
`GET /api/ip`	Your IP + geolocation + VPN detection + privacy score	None
`GET /api/lookup?ip=x`	Look up any IP address	None
`GET /api/score`	IP cleanliness grade (A-D) + VPN detection	None

All endpoints return JSON with CORS enabled. Use from any domain.

Comparison with Alternatives

Feature	HackMyIP	HaveIBeenPwned	LeakCheck
Price	Free	$3.50/month	Freemium
API Key Required	No	Yes	Yes
Breach Check	✅	✅	✅
Risk Scoring	✅	❌	❌
Password Analysis	✅	❌	✅
IP Geolocation	✅	❌	❌
VPN Detection	✅	❌	❌
Privacy Score	✅	❌	❌
CORS	✅	❌	❌

npm Package

npm install hackmyip

const { checkBreach, getMyIP, getPrivacyScore } = require('hackmyip');

const breach = await checkBreach('user@example.com');
const ip = await getMyIP();
const score = await getPrivacyScore();

Use Cases

User registration: Check if a new user's email has been compromised and suggest a password change
Security dashboards: Display breach status for monitored accounts
Compliance tools: Verify employee email exposure
Personal projects: Build your own "Have I Been Pwned" checker
CLI tools: Quick breach checks from the terminal

DEV Community: CodeLong888