Tea, a women’s safety dating app, is the recent victim of data breach. The company confirmed unauthorized access to one of its systems, which exposed thousands of user images online. It is important to note that the app recently became the number one free app on Apple’s iOS App Store.
According to Tea, around 72,000 images were exposed in the breach. These include 13,000 images of selfies and ID documents like driver’s licenses submitted by users for account verification. There are also 59,000 images that were publicly available on the app through posts, comments, and direct messages
The company said these images were stored in a legacy data system and were more than two years old. At this point, Tea claims that there is no sign that current or additional user data has been affected.
Before Tea confirmed the breach, users on Reddit and a report by 404 Media revealed that faces and ID cards from the app had already been posted on 4chan, an anonymous message board. Since Tea requires users to verify their identity using selfies and official ID documents, the leaked data includes personal and sensitive information.
Tea is the dating app that creates a safer space for women in the online dating world. It allows women to share their bad experiences with men so that others can stay informed and safe. However, this same feature has also triggered debates around men’s privacy and the ethics of publicly reporting dating behavior. Now, the breach adds a new layer to the privacy conversation.
This data leak is a major concern, especially for users who trusted the app with their most sensitive personal information. As the investigation continues, users and privacy advocates will be closely watching how Tea handles this situation moving forward.
