NEW: UK Visa Portal, a website that lets people apply for a UK visa, spilled thousands of applicants' passports, selfies, and location data online.

The data exposure is now fixed, but not before the company sent attorneys and a public relations firm our way — which is very weird!

My updated story: https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/27/uk-visa-portal-spilled-thousands-of-applicants-passports-and-selfies-online-and-hasnt-fixed-the-leak/

UK Visa Portal exposed thousands of applicants’ passports and selfies — then called the lawyers on us | TechCrunch

The third-party website exposed passports, selfies, and the location data of applicants who submitted their documents as part of the U.K. visa application process. Instead of fixing the issue, the website sent attorneys.

TechCrunch
@zackwhittaker Oddly enough there's a company based in Dubia, or thereabouts, which in Germany, via a website looking very like Deutsche Post, with the forms to obtain a "Nachsendeauftrag' (Mail forwarding request). This document can be vital during a change of address, as German law requires each person to be reachable at all times. Deutsche Post provides this document and service at very low cost. The same cannot be said about the 'middle man' service, even though the service is the same.
@zackwhittaker This is great reporting, and honestly the PSA you give up front is probably worth shouting from rooftops: "The website is not affiliated with the U.K. government, and some have complained that they mistakenly paid a fee to this company instead of using the official GOV.UK website."

@cytechlaw @zackwhittaker of course they will be held liable for this....

(NOT)

@zackwhittaker Smart move pushing back on the lawyers and flacks who claimed to represent the company. I'm sure many reporters wouldn't have given that a second thought!