Hacking Tea App: 13,000 women’s photos and IDs are leaked

Hackers leak thousands of images and IDs from Women’s Tea App, causing privacy concerns worldwide.

A major security breach has rocked the viral women’s-only Tea app, with hackers reportedly leaking more than 13,000 selfies and government ID photos online – most of which belonged to women seeking a safer online space.

On July 25, Tea, a platform designed for women to report toxic behavior from men, announced that hackers had accessed a database of over 72,000 images. This included selfies, ID scans, and verification selfies.

The platform, which recently topped the Apple App Store rankings, rose to popularity for allowing users to anonymously search, rate, and comment on men – labelling them “red flags” or “green flags.”

“Protecting users’ data and privacy is our number one priority.” Tea takes every step necessary to protect our platform from further exposure and ensure its security. A Tea spokesperson confirmed this. NBC News.

How was Tea hacked?

The leak seems to have been coordinated through a 4Chan post, where users called for an “hack and leak’ campaign against the application. A 4Chan user shared a link on Friday morning to download the stolen database. Identification photos began circulating quickly both on 4Chan (X) and 4Chan.

Tea blames the breach on a database that was created to meet cyberbullying prevention standards. In spite of this, selfies taken by users were supposed to disappear after verification and screenshots from in-app content would be blocked.

Sean Cook, the platform’s creator has stated previously that Tea was inspired from his mother’s online dating experience, which included unknowingly dating men who had criminal records.

The messages and locations of tea users are also compromised

On July 28, 404 Media announced that a second vulnerability allowed access to more than 1.1 million Direct Messages (DMs). Some of these contained highly personal data that could be used to identify users.

“As part of our ongoing investigation… we have recently learned that some direct messages (DMs) were accessed,” Tea confirmed to NBC NewsAdditionally, the system affected has been taken offline.

Cybersecurity researcher Kasra Rajerdi who discovered the DM breach said that others had accessed and downloaded the database before he did. However, it is unclear if these other users actually downloaded the data.

Google Maps, meanwhile, was used for sharing a map displaying the location of alleged Tea users linked to leaks. The coordinates are anonymous and do not contain names.

The company claims to be identifying users who are affected and will provide free services for identity protection. Tea says it will donate 10% of profits to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. NBC News confirmed that the company is a legit donor.

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