Tea dating advice app confirms hack, says 72K images, including selfies, accessed
Tea, a dating advice app for women, suffered a data hack impacting more than 72,000 images, including users' selfies and photo IDs, the company said Friday.
A spokesperson for Tea confirmed the hack to ABC News Friday afternoon, noting it involved a database that stored around 13,000 images of selfies and photo identification submitted as users sought to verify their accounts, as well as nearly 60,000 images viewable for all app users.
"Tea has engaged third-party cybersecurity experts and are working around the clock to secure its systems. At this time, there is no evidence to suggest that additional user data was affected," the spokesperson said in a statement. "Protecting Tea users' privacy and data is their highest priority. Tea is taking every necessary step to ensure the security of the platform and prevent further exposure."
Tea varies from traditional dating apps because it's only for women, and instead of looking for dates, women go on the app to share information about and look for tips on potential male partners. The platform recently went viral, skyrocketing this week to the top of Apple's free apps chart.
The company says on social media it has reached over 4 million female users and has a waiting list of approximately 900,000 new, prospective users.
No users' phone numbers or email addresses were accessed in the hack, according to the spokesperson. The hack involves data that was obtained prior to 2024 and had been archived "in compliance with law enforcement requirements related to cyberbullying prevention."
Below, read more about the viral Tea app.
What is the Tea app?
The Tea app is marketed as a "women-only" app that offers "dating tools for women" and lets women anonymously share and search for information, advice, and photos of men they say they have dates with or are looking to date.
According to the Apple App Store, to use the Tea app, users must be 17+.
One of the goals the app is seemingly trying to achieve is that a woman adding a man's "dating data" and "dating history" would, in theory, build community and help other women share "red flags" or warnings about people they say they've dated or any "green flags" or vouch for men.
Users may share noteworthy dating experiences, both positive and negative.
What does Tea let users do?
In one promotional Instagram post, Tea compared itself to the user review app Yelp.
"An app that's like Yelp, except for it's reviews of men," the text in the video post reads.
After creating an account by logging in through an Apple or Facebook account, a Tea user can use the app's tools to check phone number lookups, do background checks, check criminal records, check if someone is listed on sex offender registries and reverse image search photos to see if photos are used elsewhere, according to explanations posted on the Tea app's social media pages.
Users can also search for others based on their location.
Tea users can also share first names, photos, and reviews of men they've dated and their date experiences.
What are the concerns behind Tea?
On Reddit, some users have called for the deletion and removal of the Tea app, calling it a platform that "can be used to spread misinformation," a platform that allows for easy doxing, or the sharing of someone's identity and private information publicly, and a "privacy blindspot" that doesn't let men search for themselves or verify what is shared about them.
The Tea app claims to verify all potential users and calls safety its "No. 1 priority."
"Because this is a women-only app, our approval process is extremely tedious, to protect the women in Tea," the app stated in an Instagram post.
"We pride ourselves on being very thorough, which takes extra time (real human team, no shortcuts!)," the message continued in part.
The app's developer, Tea Dating Advice Inc., declined to comment to ABC News earlier Friday on how the app works, how the app's vetting process works and privacy concerns.
Editor's note: This report was updated to reflect information about a data hack confirmed by Tea.
