A severe data breach at Tea, the anonymous dating review app for women, exposed private user content stored on legacy systems dating from early 2023 to February 2024. Around 72,000 images were accessed—including 13,000 selfies and government-issued ID photos submitted for verification, and 59,000 images from user posts, messages, and comments.
Further investigation revealed a second breach: over 1.1 million private messages stored in a separate Firebase database were also accessed. These conversations included deeply personal topics like divorce, abortion experiences, cheating, and sexual assault, with some disclosing phone numbers and meeting locations.(Business Insider)
A security researcher discovered the exposed data bucket on 4chan, where many files were made available publicly. The breach shockingly resulted from misconfigured Firebase storage, not an intrusion through Tea’s API. Tea has since taken the affected systems offline and disabled direct messaging.
Tea says the breached data came from users who signed up before February 2024, and no email addresses or phone numbers were compromised. The company also stated that the archived images were kept to comply with cyber-bullying prevention legal requirements.
The incident has triggered warnings from digital safety experts about the risks of identity theft and doxxing, prompting Tea to engage third-party cybersecurity professionals and inform law enforcement, including the FBI.
Tea’s immense popularity—surging to over 4 million users and topping the U.S. Apple App Store—has amplified concern over the breach, as many people trusted the platform for enhanced privacy in dating safety. Critics note the breach erodes the app’s fundamental promise of anonymity and security.
Affected users are advised to monitor their financial statements, enroll in credit monitoring, and remain vigilant for phishing attempts. Tea is reportedly notifying impacted individuals and offering identity protection services.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe & share!
