Dating app Tea hit by data breach, exposing 72,000 images
What's the story
Tea, a popular dating app that allows women to review and rate men they've dated, has suffered a major data breach. The company confirmed that hackers gained unauthorized access to around 72,000 images from its servers. This included approximately 13,000 images of user IDs and selfies submitted for account verification purposes, as well as 59,000 publicly visible images from posts, comments, and messages.
Breach details
Hackers accessed legacy system that contained user-uploaded images
The hackers reportedly exploited a "legacy" storage system that contained images uploaded by users who signed up before February last year, a Tea spokeswoman told AFP. The exposed database was hosted on Google's mobile app development platform, Firebase. The site claimed its users had been parsing personal data and selfies from Tea's internal databases.
Data exposure
Stolen data posted on forums like 4chan
Screenshots shared on Reddit and other sites show that stolen copies of ID card photos from Tea were posted on 4chan, a forum notorious for "incel" culture and rampant misinformation. The leaked information included images of IDs such as driver's licenses, which could expose victims to potential stalking or identity theft. Trey Ford, head of security at cybersecurity company Bugcrowd, warned that linking usernames with real names and home addresses poses various risks to these women.
Company statement
Tea confirms unauthorized access to one of its systems
In response to the incident, a Tea spokesperson said, "We can confirm that at 6:44am PST on Friday, July 24th, Tea identified unauthorized access to one of our systems and immediately launched a full investigation to assess the scope and impact." The spokesperson added that preliminary findings suggest the breach involved a legacy data storage system with information from over two years ago.
Information
Positioning itself as women's safety app
The Tea spokesperson further clarified that no current/additional user data was believed to be affected by the breach. Tea markets itself as a "women's safety app," allowing users to anonymously post pictures and real names of men they've dated, with criticisms and concerns about them.
About the app
Top free app in App Store's Lifestyle category
Tea's website highlights a "sisterhood" of over 1.6 million women who anonymously share dating experiences and advice. The app has drawn both attention and controversy for its promise to help women steer clear of problematic men and gather insights on potential dates. This week, Tea went viral on social media and became the top free app in Apple's App Store Lifestyle category.