Tea App Data Breach Exposes 72,000 Private Images

Hackers have breached the women-only dating app Tea, stealing 72,000 user images, including selfies, photo IDs, and private content. The platform, designed to help women vet men before dating them, has become the latest victim of a major data breach.

What Was Exposed?

According to Tea’s team, the breach affected users who signed up before February 2024. Hackers reportedly accessed:

• 13,000 selfies and ID photos used for account verification
• 59,000 images from posts, comments, and DMs over a two-year period

The company initially claimed that verification photos couldn’t be linked to user posts, but later confirmed that more sensitive content had also been compromised.

App for Women, Built on Trust

Tea, also known as Tea Dating Advice, is a women-only app allowing users to share anonymous dating reviews, search for criminal records, and perform background checks on men. It has gained popularity for its mission to protect women from catfishing, scammers, and hidden marriages.

Tea boasts over 4 million users, calling itself the largest women’s group chat in the U.S.

4chan Users and Firebase Database

According to reporting by 404 Media, hackers on 4chan discovered a misconfigured Firebase database connected to the Tea app. This allowed unauthorized access to user-uploaded content stored in the cloud.

Although the app blocks screenshots to preserve user anonymity, the breach gave attackers direct access to private files.

Tea’s Response

Tea says it has brought in top cybersecurity experts and is working “around the clock” to address the breach.

“We’re taking every step to protect this community—now and always,” the company said in a statement.
“We acted fast and are working with some of the most trusted cybersecurity experts.”

So far, Tea has not confirmed whether the stolen data has been leaked or shared publicly.

Conclusion

The Tea app data breach is a harsh reminder that even privacy-focused platforms are vulnerable to misconfigurations and targeted attacks. With tens of thousands of sensitive images now exposed, the platform faces a critical test of trust, privacy, and accountability.