Fortnite maker Epic Games has offered a $1m reward for evidence of a smear campaign against its Houseparty app.

This follows the BBC reporting on rumours that the social platform, which Epic bought in June 2019, allows hackers to have access to other user accounts, including Netflix, Spotify and bank accounts. Houseparty does request access to Facebook and Snapchat on mobile devices in order to access the contacts.

"We've found no evidence to suggest a link between Houseparty and the compromises of other unrelated accounts," an Epic spokesperson said.

"As a general rule, we suggest all users choose strong passwords when creating online accounts on any platform."

In a post from the official Houseparty Twitter account (below) the platform said it was putting up a huge reward for information about the smear campaign.

Houseparty has surged in popularity due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, with countries around the world telling their citizens to stay indoors. As a result people have been turning to the social platform in order to, well, socialise.

We are investigating indications that the recent hacking rumors were spread by a paid commercial smear campaign to harm Houseparty. We are offering a $1,000,000 bounty for the first individual to provide proof of such a campaign to [email protected].

— Houseparty (@houseparty) March 31, 2020