--- description: The boy found a serious hole in Instagram’s comments mechanism title: Why Instagram Paid Out $10,000 to a 10-Year-Old Finnish Kid image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b083cb883e7865e/69888ce9cd1bba25a1700064/gettyimages-158602575.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Why Instagram Paid Out $10,000 to a 10-Year-Old Finnish Kid by [David Meyer / Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## David Meyer / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 4, 2016 3:07 AM CUT  The Instagram logo is displayed on a smartphone on December 20, 2012 The Instagram logo is displayed on a smartphone on December 20, 2012Lionel Bonaventure—AFP/Getty Images by [David Meyer / Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## David Meyer / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 4, 2016 3:07 AM CUT A 10-year-old boy from Helsinki received $10,000 from Instagram for finding a serious bug in the app’s comment feature. According to Finnish media, the boy—named only as Jani—found he could delete other people’s comments by inserting malicious code into the comment field. Jani said he could even have executed the attack against the account of Justin Bieber, if he wanted to. Facebook-owned Instagram confirmed that Jani was the youngest person to get paid through its “bug bounty” program. Like many larger online firms, Instagram pays security researchers to inform it of the vulnerabilities they find and to encourage them to locate bugs before miscreants do. Jani told Instagram about the flaw in February and collected his reward the following month. He said he will use the money to buy a new bike. The company has paid out over $4.3 million since 2011 to over 800 researchers. It is not uncommon for teenagers to submit reports, but a 10-year-old is something else. Unsurprisingly, Jani told Finnish newspaper [_Iltalehti_](http://www.iltalehti.fi/digi/2016050221506011%5Fdu.shtml "undefined") that he wants to work in cybersecurity when he grows up. 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