Tea App Data Breach: DMs Disabled After Second Incident

Tea Dating App Suffers Multiple Data Breaches

A significant data security incident has impacted the dating safety application Tea. Last week, a breach exposed approximately 72,000 sensitive images.

These compromised visuals included selfies submitted for account verification, as well as photo identification documents and images shared within posts and direct messages.

Data Shared on 4chan

Reports indicate the exposed personal data was initially disseminated by users on the online forum 4chan. This initial exposure prompted a response from the app’s developers.

Second Security Issue Discovered

Further investigation revealed a second security vulnerability. This led to the app disabling its direct messaging functionality on Tuesday afternoon.

Details of Exposed Messages

Independent security researcher Kasra Rahjerdi alerted 404 Media to the second issue. They provided examples of user messages containing sensitive information.

These messages included the sharing of phone numbers and discussions concerning personal matters, such as abortions and infidelity.

Scope of the Breaches

Tea initially stated the first breach only affected users who registered before February 2024. However, Rahjerdi’s analysis uncovered messages dating back to early 2023 and continuing until recently.

Over 1.1 million messages were recorded within the exposed data, indicating a broader scope than originally acknowledged.

Direct Messaging Feature Disabled

In response to the reports, Tea announced via Instagram the temporary suspension of its direct messaging feature.

The company explained this action was taken “out of an abundance of caution,” and likely as a direct result of the second security incident.

App Popularity and User Base

Launched in 2023, Tea has rapidly gained popularity. Currently, it holds the No. 2 position on the Apple App Store’s list of top free applications.

Estimates from Sensor Tower suggest the app boasts approximately 2 million monthly active users as of this month.

This report has been updated to reflect the app’s Instagram announcement and user statistics provided by Sensor Tower.