Dating App “Tea” Hacked: 72,000 Private Photos Leaked in Major Security Breach
72,000 Photos Leaked Online after the US-based Women-only Dating App “Tea” was Compromised
With its claims to assist women in avoiding troublesome males and obtaining information about potential dates, the app has generated curiosity and controversy.
On Friday, the American app “Tea,” which allows women to publish “red flags” or comments about men they have dated, acknowledged that hackers had gained access to around 72,000 photos, including user IDs.
According to an initial inquiry, hackers gained access to a “legacy” storage system early Friday that contained pictures posted by users who registered before February of last year, a Tea spokesperson told AFP.
According to the spokeswoman, approximately 13,000 selfies or photos with photo identification that were submitted to validate Tea accounts were among the stolen images.
As per the firm, the remaining images were taken from publicly accessible posts, comments, or messages within the program.
Tea claims that no phone number or email address information was obtained.
Over 1.6 million women make up the “sisterhood” on Tea’s website, where they can anonymously exchange dating tips and experiences.
With its claims to assist women in avoiding troublesome males and obtaining information about potential dates, the app has generated curiosity and controversy.
While enthusiasts highlight the opportunity for women to avoid aggressive, manipulative, or dishonest interactions, critics draw attention to the privacy dangers associated with date evaluations that include names and images.
After going viral on social media, Tea rose to the top of the Apple App Store’s free app rankings in the Lifestyle category this week.
Screenshots circulated on Reddit and other websites show that copies of ID card photographs taken from Tea were uploaded on 4Chan, an online forum renowned for its “incel” culture and abundance of false material, on Friday.
Trey Ford, head of security at cybersecurity firm Bugcrowd, said victims of the security breach, which involves photos of IDs like driver’s licenses, are at risk of identity theft or stalking.
“Connecting usernames to actual legal names and home addresses exposes these women to a variety of concerns,” Ford stated to AFP.
“Identity theft is only the tip of this iceberg.”
About the Author:
Yogesh Naager is a content marketer who specializes in the cybersecurity and B2B space. Besides writing for the News4Hackers blogs, he also writes for brands including Craw Security, Bytecode Security, and NASSCOM.
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