A dating application designed for women to conduct background checks on men has reported a security breach that has compromised the personal information and photos of tens of thousands of users.
The company behind this app, called Tea Dating Advice, announced the incident, revealing that a “legacy data storage system” was hacked, exposing around 72,000 images.
The breach, which was discovered at 6:44 a.m. PST on July 25, involved the theft of approximately 13,000 selfies and users’ identification photos, in addition to around 59,000 images from posts, comments, and direct messages shared within the app.
Fortunately, Tea confirmed that no email addresses or phone numbers were accessed during this incident. The affected users are those who registered for the app before February 2024.
Initially, Tea required users to submit selfies and IDs to enhance safety and ensure that only women could join the platform. However, this requirement was eliminated in 2023, according to the company’s statement.
Tea has stated that both its internal security team and third-party cybersecurity experts are actively working to secure the system. They have implemented new security measures and resolved the data issue.
The company emphasized that protecting user privacy and data is their top priority, asserting that there is no indication that any additional user data was compromised.
The hackers exploited vulnerabilities in Tea’s data storage system, gaining access to data stored prior to February 24, 2024.
This occurred because some older content was not transferred to a more secure system during the app’s early development stages.
As the app grew, it transitioned to a more secure solution, meaning new users from February 2024 onwards were not affected by this breach.
The Tea Dating Advice app, named after the phrase “spilling tea,” which means sharing secrets, gained significant attention recently, becoming the top free app on the Apple App Store with nearly 1 million new users, as reported by NBC News.
It is available for free on both Android and iOS platforms, allowing women to check the background of men, including a “Reverse Image Search” feature to identify individuals who might be misrepresenting themselves online.
In addition to this feature, the app offers a “Phone Number Lookup” to uncover hidden marriages and background checks to reveal criminal records.
Users can also anonymously discuss men and assign them “green” or “red” flags based on their experiences. The company claims that Tea helps women gather essential information before meeting someone new.
According to 404 Media and CNET, over 1.7 million women have utilized the app. Following the breach, there are growing concerns about identity theft, with reports indicating that some users’ photos and identification images were shared on 4Chan and Reddit.
For those who signed up before February 2024 and are worried about the misuse of their driver’s license information or other personal data, guidance can be found on the Federal Trade Commission’s Identity Theft website.
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