Tea Dating App Breach Shatters Trust: 72,000 Women’s Private Images Leaked

A safety platform for women becomes a new source of danger

Tea, a women-only dating safety app built to protect users from unsafe online encounters, has found itself at the centre of a devastating privacy scandal. In a moment of tragic irony, the platform meant to safeguard women has instead exposed their most intimate details to the public, including selfies, government-issued IDs, and registration images.

What was supposed to be a shield has become a risk.

Built to protect, now a privacy minefield

The Tea app was designed with a noble mission: to give women a private space to share reviews, red flags, and warnings about past dates. It offered a sense of control and a safer digital environment for a user base all too familiar with online threats.

But that sense of security was cracked wide open when over 72,000 images were leaked. The files came from an old storage system, a “legacy” bucket that stored content uploaded before February 2023. Among the leaked data were:

• About 13,000 verification selfies were submitted during registration.

• Thousands of images showing identity documents like passports and driving licences.

• Another 59,000 profile pictures, posts, and comments are now shared far beyond their intended audience.

From Firebase misstep to public exposure

The breach appears to have stemmed from a misconfigured Firebase storage system. Firebase, used by many apps as backend infrastructure, requires strict security settings. If those settings are missed or left too open, the data becomes vulnerable to anyone who knows where to look.

In this case, someone did. The leak surfaced on 4chan, a notorious online platform often linked to hacks and data dumps. Once posted there, the images spread fast, making their way into other forums and corners of the web.

Tea’s entire promise (privacy, safety, anonymity) was shattered in one breach.

The human cost is incalculable

For some, this may register as a standard tech slip-up. But for the thousands of women affected, the breach cuts far deeper. Verification selfies often include full facial photos held next to personal ID cards. Combined, they make identity theft, harassment, and stalking easier than ever.

Tea wasn’t just a dating app. It was supposed to be a safe haven. Many women joined precisely to avoid predatory behaviour on other platforms. Now, they may be exposed to exactly that by the very tool they trusted.

One X (formerly Twitter) user wrote, “I used Tea to feel safer; now I’m scared I ever signed up.” That single sentence captures the broader sense of betrayal felt across the app’s user base.

A painful twist in the app’s origin story

This incident hits especially hard because Tea’s founder, Sean Cook, created the app in response to his mother’s terrifying online dating experience. It was supposed to be different. It was supposed to protect women, not leave them vulnerable.

The company insists that no phone numbers or email addresses were compromised. But for many, that’s cold comfort when photos and IDs are now circulating online.

A wake-up call for the tech industry

The breach underscores a widespread issue in app development: security as an afterthought. In the race to launch, many companies overlook long-term data protection. Tea’s failure wasn’t just technical; it was cultural, prioritising speed over security.

This should be a turning point. Apps that deal with sensitive personal information, especially those created for vulnerable users, must embed security into their DNA from day one.

When trust is broken, the consequences last

For many affected women, this breach won’t be a short-term problem. Once private images are online, they are nearly impossible to erase. What was meant to be private could remain searchable, downloadable, and weaponised for years.

Tea’s brand was built around safety. That promise is now in ruins, not just for its current users, but for every woman considering whether any app is truly safe.

Also read: Beware: The Car Auction Scam Making a Dangerous Comeback on TikTok

Follow Joburg ETC on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Instagram

For more News in Johannesburg, visit joburgetc.com

Source: techi.com

Featured Image: Sky News