The Tea App Was Intended to Help Women Date Safely. Then It Got Breached
A dating app hailed for its innovative approach to safer dating for women surged in popularity, only to face a major setback when it was hacked. The app, named Tea, found itself at the top of the U.S. Apple App Store rankings this week. However, a security breach soon came to light, with thousands of images, including personal selfies, leaked online.
“We’ve enlisted third-party cybersecurity experts and are tirelessly working to fortify our systems,” the company, based in San Francisco, declared after the incident. The breach was reportedly uncovered by users on online forums, who found an unsecured database that provided open access to Tea’s data.
This incident underscores the complex dynamics of dating in a digitally connected world, where technology meant to create safety can also pose new risks.
About the App:
Tea was founded by Sean Cook, a software engineer with previous stints at Salesforce and Shutterfly. He was motivated to create the app in 2022 after seeing firsthand the frightening experiences his mother endured, which included unknowingly dating men with criminal backgrounds and being tricked by individuals using fake identities.
Tea positions itself as a discreet tool for women to verify the identities of men they encounter on dating platforms such as Tinder and Bumble. It aims to ensure that these men are genuine, without criminal entanglements or hidden relationship histories. “It’s like people have their own little review profiles,” stated Aaron Minc, an attorney specializing in cases involving online defamation and harassment.
One app store review highlighted a woman’s experience: using Tea, she uncovered multiple red flags about someone she recently started communicating with, including serious allegations like assault. She promptly ceased contact, relieved that she accessed this information beforehand.
The publicity surrounding Tea in recent weeks propelled it to the number one spot on Apple’s U.S. App Store by July 24, with a reported 525% increase in downloads over the previous week. The app boasted reaching 4 million users, according to their social media announcements.
However, not everyone views Tea in a positive light. A commentator described the platform as a “man-shaming site,” criticizing it as a form of vigilante justice reliant solely on the integrity of anonymous accounts. The concern was raised about how men might perceive dating in this new environment.
“In recent weeks, our office has received a flood of inquiries,” stated attorney Minc. “People are upset—they’re being named and shamed.” Although legislation passed in 1996 shielded websites and apps from liability over user content, individuals can still face legal repercussions for spreading false and defamatory information.
Earlier this year, a federal judge in Illinois dismissed an invasion-of-privacy suit by a man criticized in an online group, pointing to an evolving landscape of legal accountability.
State laws could provide alternative legal recourse if someone’s photograph or personal information is posted online with harmful intent. Tea revealed that approximately 72,000 images were compromised, including identification-related photos used for account verification, as well as 59,000 images from public interactions within the app.
The company has stated that email addresses and phone numbers remain secure, and the breach affects only users who signed up before February 2024. “Currently, there is no indication of further user data being compromised. Our utmost priority is the protection of our users’ privacy and data,” Tea assured.
Users have been informed that they are not required to alter their passwords or delete their accounts. “All data has been secured,” assured Tea.
Attorney Minc expressed little surprise that Tea became a target for hackers. “Such platforms often attract negative attention,” he noted. “They inevitably paint targets on themselves for potential attackers.”
