Latest news with #TeaDatingAdvice
USA Today
11 hours ago
- Business
- USA Today
What is Tea Dating Advice? Controversial app lets women review men
A popular app that allows women to review and background check men they go on dates with is reeling from a massive data breach, which has exposed sensitive information about its users. Tea Dating Advice allows women users to vet their dates, using crowdsourced information and public records to evaluate men, including their dating profiles. The intention, according to the app's website, is to make dating safer for women. The company said July 25 that a security breach compromised "a legacy data storage system" of about 72,000 images, including photos of users and images from posts, comments and direct messages in the app. The breach has raised concerns amongst its users and reignited conversations online about digital safety and privacy. It has also resurfaced some controversies over the premise of the application, mainly among men. Here's what to know the app and the recent data breach. What is the Tea app? Tea Dating Advice was unveiled in 2023, but only recently surged in popularity after it received increased attention online. Its name comes from the phrase "spilling tea," or to share secrets or gossip. The app gives users a way to check the personal history of men, including a "Reverse Image Search" feature to catch men catfishing − pretending to be someone else online to attract potential romantic partners. They can also look up phone numbers to "check for hidden marriages," and implement background checks to see whether a man has a criminal record, the company says. Women on the app can also post anonymous dating reviews, share experiences with men they've dated (good and bad, giving them corresponding "green" or "red" flags) and share other information. According to the company's website, founder Sean Cook launched Tea after he saw his mother go through the "terrifying" experience online dating, when she was catfished and engaged with men who ended up having criminal records. "At its core, Tea is built on one fundamental belief: Women should never have to compromise their safety while dating," the company says. Tea says it donates 10% of its revenue to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Data breach followed surge in app interest Though the application has been around for more than two years, it has only recently skyrocketed in popularity after going viral on social media. The company said in multiple posts between July 22 and July 26 that it was working to verify hundreds of thousands of new user requests made in the the preceding few days. On July 26, Tea said more than 2.5 million new users have requested to join the application over the past week. As interest in the application surged, so too did divisive discussions. Posts about Tea on social media sites such as X and Reddit have exploded in recent days, with debates raging in some threads about whether it invades men's privacy, while others have applauded the application as a way for women to protect each other from potentially dangerous or harmful men. What was exposed in the Tea data breach? The hack, which Tea said it discovered early on July 25, exposed tens of thousands of photos and other personal information from about 72,000 images. No email addresses or phone numbers were accessed, according to Tea, and the breach only affected users who signed up for the app before February 2024. The company told USA TODAY on July 26 that they have "implemented additional security measures and have fixed the data issue." Tea added in a statement on its website that they have contacted law enforcement and are taking steps to "ensure the security of our platform and prevent further exposure." Hackers were able to exploit Tea's data storage system to access where data was stored before Feb. 24, 2024, because "during our early stages of development some legacy content was not migrated into our new fortified system," according to the company's statement. What to do if you could be impacted by the data breach If you joined the app before February 2024 and are concerned about your drivers license information or other personal information being misused, you can find tips on the Federal Trade Commission's Identity Theft website. Contributing: Mike Snider, USA TODAY Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@ and on X @KathrynPlmr.
Graziadaily
14 hours ago
- Graziadaily
Everything You Need To Know About Tea, The Women's Safety App Causing Controversy Online
From ghosting to catfishing and breadcrumbing, the world of online dating has spawned a whole host of undesirable behaviours. But now there appears to be an app for women that aims to hold them to account. Tea, a US app officially known as Tea Dating Advice, is marketed as a 'dating safety tool' for women. It does this by allowing users to do background checks on men before dating them, and anonymously share 'red flag' behaviour. The app has been around since 2023, but has recently soared in popularity. According to App Store tracker Tea Dating Advice has become the most popular free app in the US, and is the number one lifestyle download. The app has made headlines this month after it was hacked, leaving thousands of member's images, posts and comments exposed. It has also faced criticism for being an invasion on men's privacy. Using AI, the app checks that its users are women. Once this has been verified, its female users are free to post pictures of men, which are usually taken from social media or dating apps. The app then runs AI-powered reverse image searching to catch catfishers using fake images on dating profiles, and phone number searching to check if men are in 'hidden marriages,' have criminal records, and a map of registered sex offenders. The app is the brainchild of Sean Cook, a Silicon Valley developer. He founded and self-funded the app in 2023 after his mother was catfished and talked to men with criminal records while dating online. The app includes many positive reviews from women who have used it, but it is also facing a huge backlash online. One of the main concerns about the app is the issue of privacy. The app blocks screenshots so things can't be shared outside the app. However, Tea says it has 'the largest women's group chat in the US, where users share experiences, anonymous dating reviews, and support.' This group allows women to review their experiences with different men, awarding them a 'green flag' or a 'red flag.' A piece in The Times called it a 'man-shaming' app. The app has also come under fire for a data breach that saw photos from 13,000 users leaked. On Friday, a spokesperson for Tea said that around 72,000 images, including 13,000 selfies and photo identification images submitted at signup and 59,000 images shared on the app itself, were accessed and potentially leaked. Tea said: 'We're taking every step to protect this community - now and always.'
Epoch Times
15 hours ago
- Epoch Times
Tea Dating App Data Breach Compromises 72,000 Images
The women-focused Tea Dating Advice app suffered a data breach leading to the leak of thousands of personal images belonging to its users, the company said in a July 26 Instagram post. 'At 6:44 a.m. PST on 7/25, we identified unauthorized access to our systems and immediately launched a full investigation,' the company said in an official statement.
The Irish Sun
18 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Thousands of women's photos STOLEN from dating app used by 1.6 million as hackers break into messages
A POPULAR dating app used by 1.6 million women has been hacked, as tens of thousands have their data leaked. The app was designed to keep women safe by allowing them to do background checks on their dates - but the data breach has now left female users at risk. 2 Tea for Dating Advice was hacked on Friday, exposing the personal information of its female user base Credit: Tea Who is affected by the data breach? After hackers gained "unauthorised access" to Tea Dating Advice, they leaked the private information of its women user base. Boasting 1.6 million subscribers, an estimated 72,000 images submitted by women This includes photos the women submitted as part of a photo identification process to set up their account for the women-only app. The platform's privacy policy claims that these photos are "deleted immediately" after the account has been authenticated. Read more Tech However, Members of the forum claimed to have discovered an exposed database of users that had subscribed to the app. They proceeded to share screenshots of the women's personal data and pictures across social media. The breach affects members who signed up before February 2024. Most read in Tech On Friday, The company said it was "working with some of the most trusted cyber security experts" as they try to "protect this community - now and always". Inside romance scam target lonely singles on dating apps but what they don't know is if we die What is Tea Dating Advice? Tea Dating Advice provided a similar service to popular Facebook groups like On the platform, women post pictures and information about men that they are dating, trying to warn others about their own negative experiences. This could range from raising awareness of a partner who was abusive, to someone who ghosted after a first date. Individuals will share their own anecdotal experiences, including anonymous dating reviews, to potentially pre-warn other users To access the app, users must first upload selfies to verify that they are a woman. Once on the site, they can then share, or search for photos of men - usually through screenshots of social media and other dating apps. According to the app's website, this serves a number of functions: Find verified green flag men Run background checks Identify potential catfish Verify he's not a sex offender Check for a criminal history Check for hidden marriages Users can search for men using reverse image search, or by looking up their phone numbers. It allows them to "share experiences and seek advice within a secure, anonymous platform". The app also donates 10% of its profits to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, with its main purpose being to protect women. Founder Sean Cook created Tea in November 2022 after seeing his mum navigate online dating. Not only was she catfished, but he was horrified to learn that she had been unknowingly engaging with men who had criminal records, making him realise that "traditional dating apps do little to protect women". Thus, he was inspired to create a platform that made dating feel "safe, informed and empowering". Users cannot take screenshots while using the app, helping to maintain privacy of its users. Why has it faced criticism? The app received backlash by some claiming it is anti-men and an invasion of privacy. They fear that it puts men at risk of invasion of privacy and defamation, with women taking out their anger after a bad date, rather than exposing legitimate concerns. These concerns were reflected in a lawsuit against Meta for posts made in the Are We Dating the Same Guy Facebook group. Nikko D'Ambrosia took legal action against Meta because of a number of claims made about him on Facebook. The lawsuit was later thrown out by a federal judge Defamation laws in the US make it difficult for men to make a successful claim if they are posted on the app. The Sun has reached out to Tea for comment. 2 The platform posts 1.6 million subscribers, with 72,000 images leaked in the breach Credit: Getty
The Sun
19 hours ago
- The Sun
Thousands of women's photos STOLEN from dating app used by 1.6 million as hackers break into messages
A POPULAR dating app used by 1.6 million women has been hacked, as tens of thousands have their data leaked. The app was designed to keep women safe by allowing them to do background checks on their dates - but the data breach has now left female users at risk. Who is affected by the data breach? After hackers gained "unauthorised access" to Tea Dating Advice, they leaked the private information of its women user base. Boasting 1.6 million subscribers, an estimated 72,000 images submitted by women have been leaked. This includes photos the women submitted as part of a photo identification process to set up their account for the women-only app. The platform's privacy policy claims that these photos are "deleted immediately" after the account has been authenticated. However, personal information about some of its users was posted to the right-wing forum site, 4chan on July 25. Members of the forum claimed to have discovered an exposed database of users that had subscribed to the app. They proceeded to share screenshots of the women's personal data and pictures across social media. The breach affects members who signed up before February 2024. On Friday, the company confirmed that an additional 59,000 images from the app showing posts, comments and direct messages from over two years ago were accessed. The company said it was "working with some of the most trusted cyber security experts" as they try to "protect this community - now and always". Inside romance scam target lonely singles on dating apps but what they don't know is if we die What is Tea Dating Advice? Tea Dating Advice provided a similar service to popular Facebook groups like Are We Dating the Same Guy? On the platform, women post pictures and information about men that they are dating, trying to warn others about their own negative experiences. This could range from raising awareness of a partner who was abusive, to someone who ghosted after a first date. Individuals will share their own anecdotal experiences, including anonymous dating reviews, to potentially pre-warn other users about bad behaviour. To access the app, users must first upload selfies to verify that they are a woman. Once on the site, they can then share, or search for photos of men - usually through screenshots of social media and other dating apps. According to the app's website, this serves a number of functions: Find verified green flag men Run background checks Identify potential catfish Verify he's not a sex offender Check for a criminal history Check for hidden marriages Users can search for men using reverse image search, or by looking up their phone numbers. It allows them to "share experiences and seek advice within a secure, anonymous platform". The app also donates 10% of its profits to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, with its main purpose being to protect wome n. Founder Sean Cook created Tea in November 2022 after seeing his mum navigate online dating. Not only was she catfished, but he was horrified to learn that she had been unknowingly engaging with men who had criminal records, making him realise that "traditional dating apps do little to protect women". Thus, he was inspired to create a platform that made dating feel "safe, informed and empowering". Users cannot take screenshots while using the app, helping to maintain privacy of its users. Why has it faced criticism? The app received backlash by some claiming it is anti-men and an invasion of privacy. They fear that it puts men at risk of invasion of privacy and defamation, with women taking out their anger after a bad date, rather than exposing legitimate concerns. These concerns were reflected in a lawsuit against Meta for posts made in the Are We Dating the Same Guy Facebook group. Nikko D'Ambrosia took legal action against Meta because of a number of claims made about him on Facebook. The lawsuit was later thrown out by a federal judge in Illinois. Defamation laws in the US make it difficult for men to make a successful claim if they are posted on the app. The Sun has reached out to Tea for comment.
