Hackers Release Private Photos from Women's Safety App Tea

Published Date : 7/28/2025 

Tens of thousands of photos, including verification and ID images, from the women's safety app Tea have been exposed by hackers. The breach has raised serious concerns about data security and privacy. 

Tens of thousands of photos from women’s dating safety app Tea have been exposed by hackers, including 13,000 verification photos and images of government IDs, according to the company.

The app is used by women to perform background checks on men they met on dating apps, including conducting reverse image searches and accessing crowdsourced data, criminal records, and phone records. The platform also allows users to “spill the tea,” i.e., anonymously review men they have dated.

The Tea app relies on uploading selfie photos to verify identities and ensure that its users were women. The app recently reached 1.7 million users, becoming the top free app in the Apple App Store last week.

Its success, however, has invited criticism from some men, including users of the 4Chan message board. On Thursday, users reported discovering an exposed database hosted on Google’s mobile app development platform, Firebase. Tea’s data, including verification photos, was posted on 4Chan and X, according to screenshots and posts collected by 404 Media.

Tea says that the database accessed by hackers was two years old and included a total of 72,000 images. The company claims that the data was originally stored in compliance with law enforcement requirements related to cyberbullying prevention.

According to its privacy policy, selfie photos submitted by users should be stored only temporarily and deleted immediately after the completion of the verification process. The app relies on native device biometrics for secure authentication, with biometric data processed and stored locally on the user’s device.

A Tea spokesperson told NBC News that the company has hired third-party cybersecurity experts to secure its system. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS): 

Q: What is the Tea app used for?

A: The Tea app is used by women to perform background checks on men they met on dating apps. It includes features like reverse image searches, access to crowdsourced data, criminal records, and phone records. Users can also anonymously review men they have dated.

Q: How does the Tea app verify user identities?

A: The Tea app verifies user identities by requiring users to upload selfie photos. These photos are used to ensure that the users are women, as per the app's policy.

Q: What happened in the recent data breach?

A: Hackers exposed tens of thousands of photos from the Tea app, including 13,000 verification photos and images of government IDs. The data was posted on 4Chan and X.

Q: How is Tea responding to the breach?

A: Tea has hired third-party cybersecurity experts to secure its system. The company claims that the exposed database was two years old and was stored in compliance with law enforcement requirements.

Q: What measures does Tea take to protect user data?

A: According to its privacy policy, Tea stores selfie photos only temporarily and deletes them after the verification process. The app uses native device biometrics for secure authentication, with biometric data processed and stored locally on the user’s device. 

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