Tea, the leading dating app prioritizing women’s safety, has recently fallen victim to a significant data breach. The company has verified that unauthorized access to one of its systems has resulted in the exposure of thousands of user images online. Notably, this incident comes shortly after Tea soared to the top of the Apple iOS App Store as the number one free app.
According to Tea, approximately 72,000 images have been compromised in this breach. Among these, there are 13,000 selfies and ID documents, such as driver’s licenses, submitted by users for account verification. Additionally, around 59,000 images were accessible publicly through posts, comments, and direct messages within the app.
The company has indicated that these images were stored in a legacy data system and are over two years old. Currently, Tea maintains that there are no indications that current user data has been compromised.
Before Tea’s official announcement, users on Reddit and a report by 404 Media disclosed that images of faces and ID cards from the app had already surfaced on 4chan, an anonymous message board. Given that Tea requires users to verify their identity through selfies and official ID documents, the leaked data contains highly sensitive personal information.
Tea aims to create a safer environment for women in the online dating landscape, enabling them to share their negative experiences with men to keep others informed and safe. However, this feature has sparked ongoing debates regarding men’s privacy and the ethics surrounding the public reporting of dating behaviors. The recent breach has introduced a new dimension to the privacy conversation.
This data leak poses a serious concern, particularly for users who have entrusted the app with their most sensitive personal information. As the investigation unfolds, users and advocates for privacy will be keenly observing how Tea navigates this situation in the future.
