The Dark Side of Bug Bounty Hunting: Frustrations No One Talks About

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Bug bounty hunting looks like a hacker’s dream — huge payouts, flexible work, and the thrill of breaking into systems legally. But behind the success stories lies a brutal reality that no one talks about.

The journey is not as glamorous as Twitter threads make it seem. It’s frustrating, unpredictable, and sometimes downright soul-crushing. If you’ve ever felt like quitting bug bounty hunting, you’re not alone.

Imagine spending days, even weeks, meticulously hunting down a vulnerability, crafting the perfect report, only to receive this one-liner:

“This issue has already been reported. Thanks for your submission!”

No bounty. No recognition. Just disappointment. Since companies reward only the first valid report, thousands of researchers are in a never-ending race. Even if you find a critical bug, if someone else reported it five minutes before you, all your effort is wasted.

Even worse than duplicates is the dreaded “Informative” or “Not Applicable” response. You believe…