Tea, a women’s safety dating app, recently faced a significant security breach. The company uncovered unauthorized access to their systems, resulting in the exposure of thousands of user images.
Tea’s investigation revealed that around 72,000 images were compromised. These included 13,000 selfies and identification photos used for account verification, as well as 59,000 publicly viewable images from posts, comments, and messages within the app.
The leaked images were stored in a ‘legacy data system’ dating back over two years. The company has stated that current user data appears unaffected by the breach.
Earlier reports on Reddit and 404 Media indicated that Tea users’ images had been shared on the anonymous platform 4chan.
Tea’s verification process requires users to provide selfies or IDs, explaining the presence of driver’s licenses and facial photos in the compromised data.
Tea’s core purpose is to offer women a platform to report negative interactions with men, aiming to enhance safety for all users. Despite reaching the top position in Apple’s US App Store, the recent breach has sparked discussions on user privacy concerns.
If the breach claims are validated, they could further fuel the ongoing debate on the security risks associated with online identity verification.
Tea’s website emphasizes the implementation of security measures to safeguard users’ Personal Information. However, the company acknowledges the limitations of security systems.
A comprehensive investigation has been initiated by Tea to evaluate the breach’s extent and impact.
