Women-only U.S. dating advice app Tea suspends messaging following breaches
The announcement followed a report last week in tech publication 404media that the company had inadvertently exposed the names, selfies, and identity documents of thousands of women, and a second report earlier on Tuesday that direct messages, including sensitive conversations around abortions and infidelity, had similarly been exposed.
The app, which boasts 4.6 million users, is pitched as a "dating safety platform" that women can use to steer clear of men who are adulterous, dishonest, or worse. As a TikTok video put out by the company last year put it, the app "makes the FBI work for us girlies so much easier."
Women on Tea are encouraged to share details about prospective dates, create alerts against men's names, and put red flags against men who are alleged to be unscrupulous and green flags against those who are not. "Everything is anonymous," the app promises users on sign-up. Reuters could not establish why the selfies and ID card data had lingered online.
Tea did not respond to requests seeking further comment. In its TikTok message, the app said the FBI was investigating the circumstances around the breach. The FBI declined to comment.
Eva Galperin, the director of cybersecurity at San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, said the premise behind the app, creating a kind of massive whisper network powered by anonymous users, was already "a little bit sketchy."
She said the app's makers had made it worse by being "honestly negligent" about their security and that the disaster was compounded because "women are encouraged to share extremely sensitive information about themselves and others."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
a minute ago
- The Hindu
CPI (M) wants Puducherry government to drop move to install prepaid smart meters
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Saturday called for suspending move to introduce prepaid smart meters to bill electricity usage in the Union Territory. Speaking to reporters, CPI (M) secretary S. Ramachandran said the party had already conducted a signature campaign in protest against the Central government's plan for privatising the power sector in the Union Territory. Now, the territorial government has planned to introduce prepaid digital meters for an estimated 4.7 lakh consumers in the region and placed orders with a Mumbai-based company. Mr. Ramachandran said the proposal initiated would also require the consumer to foot about ₹9,000 towards installation cost. This was an unwarranted and unjustifiable burden on consumers, especially as this payment was on top of the security deposit levied at the time of issuing the connection, he said. Besides affecting the common man and farmers, the installation of prepaid meters would pave the way for privatisation of the power sector in the Union Territory, Mr. Ramachandran said. The CPI (M) would launch a major stir if the proposal was not withdrawn, he added.
The Hindu
a minute ago
- The Hindu
Alva's Pragati concludes with 2,873 candidates securing on the spot jobs
The two-day mega placement drive, Alva's Pragati 2025, concluded on Saturday, with 2,873 candidates securing jobs on the spot at Alva's Education Foundation in Moodbidri, according to the foundation. The 15th edition of the job fair witnessed participation from 288 companies and saw a footfall of 14,245 job aspirants from across the country. A total of 260 companies shortlisted 3,734 candidates for the final rounds of selection. On the second day alone, 1,513 job seekers took part in the recruitment process, a release said. Several reputed firms offered competitive packages across the sectors. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia-based leading industrial conglomerate Expertise recruited 37 candidates with a package of ₹9 lakh an annum. Global technology and services company, Concentrix, offered ₹5 lakh an annum to five candidates, while Mumbai-based global logistics conglomerate, Allcargo Logistics, hired nine candidates, with packages ranging from ₹3 to ₹5 lakh an annum. Tejaswini Groups selected 11 candidates for ₹6 lakh an annum, while Infosys BPM recruited 79 candidates. Fortune Groups, a Dubai-based hospitality firm, selected five candidates with packages between ₹5 to ₹8.75 lakh an annum. Leading Edtech firm Codeyoung extended offers to 20 candidates with salaries ranging from ₹4.36 to ₹8.36 lakh an annum, and K12 Techno Services recruited 42 candidates at ₹6 lakh an annum. Prominent healthcare provider Narayana Hrudayalaya selected 43 candidates and shortlisted 28 more for final interviews. Zee Entertainment also shortlisted 11 candidates for its final selection round, the release added.
India.com
a minute ago
- India.com
Sundar Pichai's Google massive loss: Code reveals Alphabet company's secret of..., will it affect...
Sundar Pichai's Google massive loss: Code reveals Alphabet company's secret of…, will it affect … In a major development, tech giant Google on Thursday lost its appeal to overturn a court verdict that ordered changes to its Play Store. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously rejected the Alphabet company's argument that the earlier trial was unfair and that the trial judge made legal errors in the antitrust case that unfairly benefited 'Fortnite' maker Epic Games. Notably, Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Google in 2020, accusing Google of antitrust violations. Following the court's verdict, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney took to X and wrote, 'Total victory in the Epic vs Google case!' What Was The Case? Epic lodged a case against Tech Giant Google accusing the company of monopolising how users access apps on Android devices and how they make payments for transactions within those apps. The company, in 2023, succeeded in convincing the San Francisco jury that the Alphabet company illegally stifled competition.
