Viral dating-safety app Tea reportedly disables DMs after 1.1m private messages leaked in data hack

The Tea app has reportedly disabled its DMs after inadvertently exposing its female users' chats amid a data hack.

Dexerto has reported that the breach brought to light over 1.1 million private texts that include private details like abortions and infidelity, with even phone numbers and real names attached.

Tea, which was touted as a women-only dating app meant for safety, allowed its users to leave reviews for men. Access to the platform was granted after uploading a selfie and government ID verification, Bleeping Computer has reported.

Kasra Rahjerdi, an independent researcher, discovered the breach and flagged it. He shared his findings with 404 Media, adding that all the unearthed chats happened between 2023 and last week. Tea has since issued a statement asserting it has disabled DMs altogether.

“To address the issue and out of an abundance of caution, we have taken the affected system offline altogether,” the company said in its statement.

On its official website, teaforwomen, the company stated:

"Our team remains fully engaged in strengthening the Tea App’s security, and we look forward to sharing more about those enhancements soon. In the meantime, we are working to identify any users whose personal information was involved and will be offering free identity protection services to those individuals."

Everything we know about Tea and its data breach as the FBI looks into the matter

Per MSN, Mamamia has reported that the app was booming in the US before the recent blunder, as it would allow women to anonymously share photos of the men they were seeing to find out if any other women had any "tea" on them. Such reviews would usually entail names, photos, and stories about the men.

Tea also came with a background check tool, a reverse search engine, and phone number logs. It was created by Sean Cook, a San Franciscan developer. He reportedly developed the app after hearing his mother's stories about being catfished at the age of 60. However, he soon came to realize it was a common issue in the dating world:

"My mum's challenges with online dating were upsetting - and eye-opening," he recently told startup news hub Grit Daily. "However, when I brought it up with my friends, I learned it wasn't just my mum who was going through this; every woman I spoke to had a similar story."

As of this writing, an investigation is ongoing, with external cybersecurity experts and the FBI looking into the matter.

"Your data privacy is of the utmost importance to us. We are taking all necessary measures to strengthen our security posture and ensure that no further data is exposed. Thank you for your trust—and for your patience as we address this with the urgency it deserves," an official statement from the company further says.

Stay tuned to SoapCentral for more.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback