Tea Dating App Hack Exposes User Photos and Identity Documents
A data breach of the Tea dating app exposed approximately 72,000 users' sensitive personal data including identification documents, selfies, and direct messages. The data was leaked on 4chan and subsequently posted online, with attackers allegedly extracting metadata to create maps of users' locations, threatening the safety of women on the platform.
What happened
Tea reported a data breach on July 25, 2025, affecting a legacy storage system that exposed approximately 72,000 images, including about 13,000 selfies and identification documents.
According to 404 Media's reporting, users on 4chan obtained the leaked data including government IDs and direct messages, and subsequently posted it online.
Reported impact
The breach exposed sensitive personal data of approximately 72,000 users who signed up before February 2024, including drivers' licenses, direct messages, selfies, and other sensitive information.
Online trolls claimed to have extracted metadata from the photos to create a map of Tea subscribers' locations, potentially threatening the personal safety of women on the app.
Index analysis
Tea's app used identity and image verification tools described as AI-supported to confirm users were women.
The breach laid bare the one-sided accusations against men contained in the app's anonymous forum and exposed the flaws in such 'whisper networks.'
Governance controls
Tea said it took the affected system offline out of an abundance of caution and reported finding no evidence of access to other parts of the environment.
The company faces two class action lawsuits filed in California in response to the breach.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
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