App's messaging function suspended after probe uncovers data breach involving users' direct messages.
Tea App Suffers Major Data Breach, Exposing Sensitive Information
The popular dating advice app Tea has suffered a significant data breach, exposing personal and sensitive information of its over 4 million female users.
In the incident, hackers gained access to over 72,000 images including selfies, photo IDs, posts, comments, and direct messages. A second, more serious breach was discovered, exposing over 1.1 million private messages spanning from early 2023 to just before the breach was reported in July 2025.
The private messages contained sensitive content such as users sharing phone numbers and discussing highly personal topics like abortions and unfaithful partners. The messages reveal the private exchanges that the app users, primarily women, had while sharing information about men they dated or knew.
Tea markets itself as a women-only app designed to provide a safety-focused platform where women can share "red flags" about men they have dated, aiming to protect users from abusive or deceptive partners. The app provides tools for women to engage in safe dating, including background checks and reverse image searches.
In response to the breaches, Tea publicly acknowledged the initial leak involving legacy data stored before February 2024. However, the second breach affected current and ongoing data, which is significantly more damaging. The company confirmed the hack with public statements emphasizing that no users’ phone numbers or emails were accessed in the initial incident and emphasized their engagement with third-party cybersecurity experts working to secure the platform and prevent further exposure.
Despite these reassurances, the disclosure of the extent of the breaches—including over a million messages—shows considerable exposure of sensitive personal data that could have significant privacy implications for the users of the app. The personal data was reportedly shared externally on forums like 4chan, raising concerns over misuse.
As a result of the incident, Tea has disabled its messaging feature and taken the affected system offline. The company is currently conducting an ongoing investigation into the cybersecurity incident involving the Tea App and is committed to strengthening its security.
Tea has also announced that it will offer free identity protection services to affected individuals and is working to identify any users whose personal information was involved in the data hack. Users can contact Elaine at [email protected] for questions, concerns, or tips.
The Tea app, which became the number one app in the app store, has been a popular platform for women to share dating advice and experiences. However, the recent breaches have raised serious concerns about the security of sensitive personal and verification data on Tea, potentially affecting millions of users and revealing intimate details intended to be private within the app’s community.
- The data breach at Tea, a widely-used dating advice app, has highlighted the need for cybersecurity measures in data and cloud computing, especially in the handling of sensitive information like images, messages, and personal details.
- The revelation of sensitive data from the Tea app, including discussions about crime and justice matters such as abortions and infidelity, has brought attention to the potential misuse of information revealed on social-media platforms.
- As entertainment and general-news platforms continue to grow, cases like the Tea data breach underline the importance of prioritizing cybersecurity to ensure the protection of individual privacy and maintain trust among users in technology-driven societies.
