How To: Check if Your Significant Other Used Ashley Madison to Cheat on You

Unless you've been living under a rock or ignoring recent news headlines, Ashley Madison, the dating site for married people (or individuals in a committed relationship) has recently been hacked. Millions of their users are shitting their pants, and for good reason, as all of those accounts have just been leaked.

The leak, which was initially posted on the dark web, provides all sorts of juicy information, like names, numbers, addresses, and even sexual preferences. For those truly worried about adultery or infidelity in your relationship—or if you just want some juicy gossip on your boss—here's how to check if your significant other, coworker, or buddy has signed up for the service.

Method 1: Check the Official Leak

The leaked PDF of user information was posted on the dark web, which can only be accessed over Tor. If you want to access the PDF and all its contents, check out the simple-to-follow guide on how to set up and use Tor browser.

From there, a simple search for the .onion address will get you where you need to be. Just be aware that the file is huge (over 7 GB). Most have been taken down already, so you might have a hard time finding it even on Tor. However, dumps have already started to trickle down into The Pirate Bay and other torrent sites, so you might have better luck there (no Tor required).

Method 2: Use Third-Party Checkers

If you don't want to go through the process of installing Tor or hunting on torrent sites, there are a few people that have put up their own checker services. While we can't vouch for their authenticity—after all, they could simply be trying to phish information—their sources seem legit.

The first method is provided by Rufo, the same individual who made the checker tool when Adobe's information was leaked in 2013. All you need to do is navigate to ashley.cynic.al and enter an email address to see if it was included in the leak.

A second site, checkashleymadison.com, also exists, and offers the ability to check by phone number in addition to an email address. This site claims that their intention was not to out anyone, rather to provide users the ability to see if their information was leaked, but that's not going to stop any suspicious wives from using it. Suspicious husbands need not bother as 96% of the users are male.

While approximately 36 million accounts are included in the dump, only 24 million were allegedly activated, so just because someone is on this list doesn't mean they actually used the service. Keep that in mind.