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9h ago

Tea App Tops App Store as Data Breach Exposes Thousands of User Images

With over four million women on its platform, Tea now confronts legal scrutiny over leaked verification images alongside criticism for lacking a user appeals mechanism.

Tea App Data Breach
FILE - A person uses a smartphone in Chicago, Sept. 16, 2017. (AP Photo, File)
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Tea founder Sean Cook acknowledged the data breach that saw 72,000 images of users being leaked online.

Overview

  • Tea has climbed to No. 1 on Apple’s U.S. App Store with more than four million verified women users and a $15-a-month subscription unlocking unlimited safety checks.
  • The app employs AI-driven selfie authentication, reverse-image catfish detection, sex-offender screening, background checks and phone number lookups to crowdsource red-flag and green-flag warnings.
  • On July 25, Tea confirmed that a breach of a legacy storage system exposed about 72,000 images, including 13,000 verification selfies and photo IDs, after they surfaced on 4chan.
  • Because men cannot join the women-only platform, they lack a direct route to challenge posts and legal experts warn unverified accusations could lead to defamation claims.
  • Advocates and cybersecurity specialists are calling for third-party audits, clear content-takedown policies and regulatory oversight as Tea works to secure its systems.