Tea app data breach exposes 72,000 user images after 4chan users leak content

Tea, a dating safety app where women anonymously review men they’ve dated, confirmed a major data breach on Friday that compromised tens of thousands of user images.

According to the company, hackers accessed 72,000 images, including 13,000 selfies and photo IDs submitted for identity verification, as well as 59,000 images from user posts, comments, and direct messages. Tea clarified that no email addresses or phone numbers were exposed and said the breach only affected users who signed up before February 2024.

“We have engaged third-party cybersecurity experts and are working around the clock to secure our systems,” the company said. “At this time, we have implemented additional security measures and have fixed the data issue.”

The breach was first reported by 404 Media, which noted that users on the online forum 4chan claimed to be sharing personal images and data from Tea after discovering an exposed database.

The breach coincides with a surge in Tea’s popularity. As of Saturday morning, the app remained the top-ranked free app in Apple’s App Store, highlighting growing public interest—and concern—around apps handling sensitive user content.

Tea’s rapid rise and sudden exposure underline the vulnerabilities facing niche social platforms, particularly those that depend on user-submitted materials for identity checks and community content.

While the company has responded quickly, it has not yet indicated whether affected users will be individually notified or compensated.

As Tea works to contain the fallout, questions remain about how emerging platforms can protect sensitive data amid viral success.