UK Visa Portal spilled thousands of applicants' passports and selfies online — and hasn't fixed the leak
TechCrunch found UK Visa Portal exposing passport scans and selfie photos from applicants, with the leak still unfixed after being reported.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
TechCrunch says UK Visa Portal publicly exposed sensitive identity documents from people who used the site to apply for a U.K. immigration visa. The company allegedly had no clear security-reporting path, and the leak remained open after TechCrunch tried to alert management.
A website that was supposed to help people with visa forms left private papers sitting out where other people could see them. Those papers included passport pictures and face selfies, which are very personal.
Think of it like putting a stack of locked folders on a table instead of in a cabinet. Anyone walking by could peek at them, copy them, or use them in the wrong way.
The story matters because passport details can be used to steal someone’s identity. TechCrunch says the website knew about the problem, but the leak still had not been fixed when the article was written.
Analysis
What happened
TechCrunch says it found a security lapse on a site called UK Visa Portal that was publicly exposing passports and selfie photos submitted by visa applicants. The people affected had paid the site to help with a U.K. immigration visa process, and TechCrunch says the exposed material included at least 100,000 documents.
Why the exposure is serious
The leaked files are especially sensitive because they combine identity documents with face photos. TechCrunch says it verified the authenticity of the exposed data by contacting affected individuals and asking whether the information matched their own records. That verification step suggests the exposed files were not random noise but real applicant data.
Response and status
According to TechCrunch, the site is not affiliated with the U.K. government, and some applicants reportedly thought they were paying for an official service instead of using GOV.UK. TechCrunch says it tried to warn the company, first through the address listed on the site and then through people described as its attorneys and PR firm, but did not hear back from management. The article says the leak was still not fixed at publication time.
What readers should take away
TechCrunch’s main warning is practical: applicants do not need a third-party service to apply for a U.K. electronic travel authorization unless they are using an immigration attorney, and they should apply through the government website instead. The story is framed as an active security issue rather than a historical breach, which makes the unresolved exposure the central concern.
Key points
- TechCrunch says UK Visa Portal was exposing passport scans and selfie photos online.
- The article says the exposed set included at least 100,000 documents.
- TechCrunch says it verified the data by checking with affected people.
- The site is described as not being part of the U.K. government.
- TechCrunch says the leak was still ongoing when the story ran.
