Reported Hack of Tea Dating App Compromises Data from Purportedly AI-Supported Identity and Image Checks

The Tea app, launched in 2023 by founder Sean Cook, is a dating safety platform that allows women to anonymously share information about men they might date, conduct background checks, and perform reverse image searches. The app gained massive popularity in July 2024, reaching the top of app download charts with over 2 million new user requests in just a few days. On July 25, 2024, the company discovered a major data breach affecting users who signed up before February 2024. Hackers accessed a legacy storage system containing approximately 72,000 images, including 13,000 selfies and government identification documents that had been used for user verification. The breached data also included images from posts, comments, and direct messages. Anonymous users posted this sensitive data, including drivers' licenses containing personal details, to the 4chan message board. Online trolls claimed to have created a map of Tea subscribers' locations using metadata from the leaked photos. The company stated the breached data was stored 'in compliance with law enforcement requirements related to cyberbullying prevention' and had not been moved to newer, more secure systems. Two class action lawsuits have been filed in California in response to the breach, and the incident has sparked broader debates about the safety and ethics of anonymous whisper network platforms.