In mid-2019, Epic Games, the studio behind Fortnite, acquired Houseparty for an undisclosed sum. No, not Houseparty; Houseparty is a video chat application for mobile devices and PCs that launched in early 2016. While it may not seem like the most innovative software ever, allowing up to eight users to participate in a single chat session and receiving notifications when friends are online, it has recently seen a surge in popularity among those seeking new ways to stay in touch while in isolation. It is currently one of the most downloaded apps in both the App Store and Google Play.

Earlier this month, however, rumors began circulating that Houseparty was being used to "hack" into users' Netflix, PayPal, and Spotify accounts; according to The Independent, the rumor first circulated on Twitter and then spread to other Some of the tweets claiming that Houseparty is hacking other accounts also state that the only way to avoid problems is to delete them altogether.

Houseparty, of course, insisted that its accounts and service are secure: "The service is secure, has never been compromised, and does not collect passwords for other sites," it tweeted yesterday.

And today it took matters a step further by suggesting that the hacking rumors were part of a deliberate effort to discredit and damage the company. The company is also offering a $1 million bounty to anyone who can prove that the hacking rumors are in fact happening.

In a statement yesterday, Epic Games confirmed that the bounty was justified, saying that it "found no evidence to suggest a connection between Houseparty and the breach of other unrelated accounts."

"In our investigation, we noticed that many of the original tweets disseminating this claim have been deleted and the Twitter account suspended. This is unfortunate for a service like ours that brings people the face-to-face social connection and empathy they need at a critical time."

To Epic's disadvantage is the fact that it is already distrusted by some gamers because of its 40% stake in Chinese conglomerate Tencent, a claim that Epic and CEO Tim Sweeney have repeatedly denied, and that the company's CEO, David Harris, is a "very good friend" of Epic, Epic is not the only gaming company in which Tencent has invested.

Epic also urges people to use strong, unique passwords for their online accounts, ideally with a password generator or manager.