10-year-old hacks Instagram, gets $10,000 for his trouble

PanARMENIAN.Net - A 10-year-old boy has been given $10,000 after spotting a bug on image-sharing app Instagram, Digital Spy said.

Jani, from Finland, became the youngest ever recipient of Instagram's "bug bounty" prize. The glitch he discovered let him delete other users' comments.

He reported it to Instagram owner Facebook, which awarded him the prize after verifying and then fixing the bug.

It's all the more impressive given that, according to the site's policy, Jani won't even be old enough to join Instagram until he's 13.

Jani told Finnish newspaper Iltalehti (via BBC News) that he would spend the money on a new bike, football equipment and computers for his brothers. So at least he's sharing the wealth.

Facebook has reportedly paid $4.3 million in bug bounty prizes since 2011. The scheme acts as an incentive to hackers to improve the social network's services, instead of selling the hacks on the black market.