Buffer Hacked Or Down? Spam Floods Twitter And Facebook After App ...

Is Buffer hacked or down? Floods of weight loss spam hit Facebook and Twitter Saturday afternoon, as users of the popular social media-posting app suddenly began to notice their accounts were seemingly hacked. While many users struggled to reset social media passwords in hopes of stopping the weight loss spam, they soon discovered the problem lay elsewhere - it was their social media posting app, Buffer, that had been hacked. Soon after the problem emerged, however, so did a tweet from the founder of the Buffer app.

'Looks like Buffer has been hacked, and there is a nasty scam being posted,' reads CEO Joe Gascoigne recent Twitter status. 'We're pausing all posting and investigating right now. Sorry!'

Although weird spam weight loss ads and other posts are nothing new on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, this may be the first go around for Buffer app.

@buffer was hacked today. Guess all those weight loss tweets weren't real.

- Zack Wenthe (@zwenthe) October 26, 2013

Is Buffer Down? Posts Halted After Bufferapp Hack

After receiving multiple complaints from users, the CEO of Buffer app made a decision to shut the service down temporarily until the company could discover how they had been hacked and how to restore a secure service for its patrons.

We've stopped all posting from @buffer until we have got to the bottom of what caused this scam. Sorry once again. We're investigating. - Joel Gascoigne (@joelgascoigne) October 26, 2013

Since that time, the CEO of Buffer social media posting service submitted a blog post which showed the status of what had happened to Buffer and what was being done currently to fix he hacked app and stop the spam. According to the post, not all Buffer users were affected by the hack but he lists some important steps Buffer users should take to ensure their personal data is as secure as possible while Buffer is being fixed.

Buffer App Hacked? Here's What To Do If Your Facebook or Twitter Accounts Were Victims Of The Weight Loss Spam

According to the Buffer blog post, the best steps for you to take right now are:

Remove any postings from your Facebook page or Twitter page that look like spam Keep an eye onBuffer'sTwitter pageandFacebook page YourBufferpasswords are not affected No billing or payment information was affected or exposed All Facebook posts sent via Buffer have been temporarily hidden and will reappear once we've resolved this situation

Buffer CEO Joe Gascoigne then goes on to add this final personal message,

'I am incredibly sorry this has happened and affected you and your company. We're working around the clock right now to get this resolved and we'll continue to post updates on Facebook and Twitter. If you have any questions at all, please ask in the comments below or email us hello@bufferapp.com. Understandably, a lot of people have emailed us, so we might take a short while to get back to everyone, but we will respond to every single email. We're going to update this article as we've got more news to share for you!'

It seems users who were affected by the hacked Buffer app have been appreciative to the company CEO for being transparent throughout the process, keeping them updated on what is happening with Buffer app while the service is down, as numerous positive comments have flooded the Buffer app blog site.

Here is just a sample:

Feeling for @buffer getting hacked today. Shitty situation, and no less on a saturday.

- Max Lynch (@maxlynch) October 26, 2013

'Guys, thank you for this approach and quick solving and communicating it. Fingers crossed so it doesn't affect you as well - you are doing a great job and as we all know $#!t happens...' -- Jan Miřacký

Sad that @buffer has been hacked. Impressed how they're keeping everyone informed. Hope it doesn't do them too much harm - it's a great app. - Andy Arnott (@vclever) October 26, 2013

'You're not only doing a great job at Buffer every day - it's also good to see how you deal with unforeseen problems. Heads up, Leo and Joel!' -- Günter Exel

Hope the best for @buffer that have been hacked. Very professional and quick communication...go ahead!!

- Andrea Caramanna (@erinni) October 26, 2013

'Good luck with the fix. Really excellent communication about what's going on.' -- Jamie McHale

Hear hear RT: @ArmshouseGroup: Hats off to the folks @buffer for the way they're dealing with their hack. http://t.co/8RJWBAtwsB - David McClelland (@DavidMcClelland) October 26, 2013

'I was super impressed with your ultra-transparent blog post about your progress since launching, even including revenue numbers. I've pointed many people to that who are surprised that we're willing to be so transparent our financials. So thanks for that, and for being generally awesome!' -- Daniel Reeves

Judging by these comments alone, though Buffer may have been hacked and is down for a spell, they have a loyal following and excellent customer service and communication. With that combination, there is no way they can fail. Cheers, Buffer!

Were you affected by the Buffer hack before the app went down? Share with us your experience in the comments below. WATCH: Bufferapp for Free - How to Schedule Facebook Posts & Twitter Updates using Blog