Tea app, which went viral for its concept of a ‘safe place’ for women to talk about men, faced a massive data breach, the company confirmed. A spokesperson, according to NBC News, said that about 72,000 images, including 13,000 verification photos and images of government IDs, were leaked. This comes after screenshots of these images appeared on a 4chan bulletin board.
Some users posted about another error on social media. They said the ‘screen was not loading’. The company is yet to address this issue.
The application was designed as a virtual whisper network for women to share photos and comments about men, labeling them as ‘red flags’ or ‘green flags’. It rocketed to the top of the Apple App Store’s free app chart this week, boasting nearly a million new signups recently and over 2 million in the past few days.
Tea requires selfie verification to ensure female users, promising anonymity via chosen usernames while blocking screenshots.
A hacker accessed a database from over two years ago, according to a Tea spokesperson, who noted it was stored to comply with law enforcement cyberbullying prevention rules.
“Protecting our users’ privacy and data is our highest priority. Tea is taking every necessary step to ensure the security of our platform and prevent further exposure."
{{/usCountry}}“Protecting our users’ privacy and data is our highest priority. Tea is taking every necessary step to ensure the security of our platform and prevent further exposure."
{{/usCountry}}The breach, detected early Friday, followed a 4Chan thread Thursday evening where users called for a ‘hack and leak’ campaign, angered by the app’s premise.
A 4Chan user posted a download link Friday morning, allegedly sharing stolen identification photos, which also appeared on X. Hindustan Times is yet to verify the authenticity of the photos.
Creator Sean Cook launched Tea inspired by his mother’s harrowing online dating experiences, including catfishing and criminal ties, offering background checks and photo reverse-searches. The app donates 10% of profits to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, confirmed as a donor.
Amid the hack, some men online fear misrepresentation or doxxing, while others, including users, worry about cyberbullying beyond safety concerns. A retaliatory men-only app, Teaborn, was briefly launched but removed after backlash over revenge porn.