The popular women-only dating review app Tea has experienced a serious data breach, exposing over 72,000 user images online. The leak was reported on July 25, 2025, and has raised major concerns about user safety and data privacy.
Tea rose to fame as a platform where women could anonymously share their experiences and impressions of the men they had dated. Users could leave anonymous reviews, mark someone as a “green flag” (good sign) or “red flag” (warning sign), and even verify identities by uploading selfies and government ID photos. The app quickly climbed the Apple App Store charts earlier this year and became a tool many women trusted for safer dating experiences.
However, Tea recently confirmed that a backup file containing thousands of images was accidentally left unsecured on an old server. This file included 13,000 verification selfies and ID documents, along with 59,000 photos uploaded within the app. The exposed content was later found circulating on public websites such as 4chan, leading to panic among users.
In response to the incident, Tea has disabled its selfie verification option and brought in cybersecurity professionals to carry out a full investigation. They claim the data was old, from before February 2024, and no recent information was affected. Still, users remain concerned about how their private data was handled.
Key concerns raised by users:
- Fear of identity theft, stalking, or online harassment
- Risk of false accusations or reputational harm due to anonymous reviews
- Loss of trust in an app that was designed to promote safety
Tea’s founders say they are committed to rebuilding user trust and improving app security. But for many, this leak is a reminder that even apps built for protection must be extra careful with user privacy.
