Earlier this week, the Tea app admitted to a massive data breach. After all, it had just recently rocketed to fame for its unconventional methods to male-centric dating advice. The platform’s had more than 4 million women download it and shot to the top of Apple’s free apps chart. It currently has close to 900,000 people clamoring to get on its waiting list, wanting to connect. This rapid rise in popularity has undoubtedly raised a lot of questions around user privacy and exposure to misinformation.
Launched by a female-led team, Tea started as an app for women to share their experiences on men they’ve dated “neighborhood watch-style,” according to the company. Its purpose is to empower women to recognize key warning signs aka “red flags” as well as key signals of a positive match aka “green flags.” The app’s privacy policies have been widely condemned. Users on Reddit have described it as a privacy blindspot, emphasizing the inability for men to look up, search for, or otherwise confirm any information that is posted about them.
The recent breach had alarming implications for data that was locked up prior to 2024. In response, the Tea app has hired third-party cybersecurity experts to help mitigate damage, strengthen security apparatus, and improve accountability.
“Tea has engaged third-party cybersecurity experts and are working around the clock to secure its systems. At this time, there is no evidence to suggest that additional user data was affected,” – Tea spokesperson.
The breach has caused a legitimate uproar. People are currently calling for the app’s deletion and pulling it from stores across the internet. Further, users articulated the dangers that misinformation could spread without any accountability on the platform.
“Because this is a women-only app, our approval process is extremely tedious, to protect the women in Tea,” an official statement from the app noted. They also emphasized their commitment to thorough vetting processes, stating, “We pride ourselves on being very thorough, which takes extra time (real human team, no shortcuts!).”
The Tea app functions similarly to Yelp, but with a different spin on things. It focuses on men’s reviews and empowering users to share their experiences in a judgment-free environment. While its stated goal is to create a safe community for women to share their stories, critics say it can still create damaging narratives.
“An app that’s like Yelp, except for it’s reviews of men,” said a representative from Tea.
While the app continues to work through these challenges, TikTok has reiterated its commitment to keeping its users’ data safe.
“Protecting Tea users’ privacy and data is our highest priority. Tea is taking every necessary step to ensure the security of the platform and prevent further exposure,” stated a spokesperson.
The recent hack and the backlash against it as exhibited in this thread demonstrate that we are at peak user privacy vs. community-driven web platform tension. As Tea explained, their goal is to continue scaling their user base at a phenomenal pace. Addressing these concerns will be critical for its future success.
