Hackers have breached the Tea app, which recently went viral as a place for women to safely talk about men, and tens of thousands of women’s selfies and photo IDs have now seemingly been leaked online.
A spokesperson confirmed the hack Friday afternoon. The company estimates that 72,000 images, including 13,000 verification photos and images of government IDs, were accessed.
Tea is designed to function as a virtual whisper network for women, allowing them to upload photos of men and search for them by name. Users can leave comments describing specific men as a “red flag” or “green flag,” and share other information about them.
It’s recently gained such popularity that it became the top free app in the Apple App Store this week. The app claimed Thursday to have recently gained nearly a million new signups.
Signing up for Tea requires users to take selfies, which the app says are deleted after review, to prove they are women. All users who get accepted are promised anonymity outside of the usernames they choose. Taking screenshots of what’s in the app is also blocked.
The hacker accessed a database from more than two years ago, the Tea spokesperson said, adding that “This data was originally stored in compliance with law enforcement requirements related to cyberbullying prevention.”
The Tea spokesperson said that the company has hired third-party cybersecurity experts and is “working around the clock to secure our systems.”
“Protecting our users’ privacy and data is our highest priority. Tea is taking every necessary step to ensure the security of our platform and prevent further exposure,” the spokesperson said.
The app has angered some men, and prompted a thread Thursday evening on the right-wing troll message board 4Chan, in which users called for a “hack and leak” campaign. The company became aware of the incident early Friday, the spokesperson said.
A 4Chan user posted a link Friday morning, allegedly allowing people to download the database of stolen images, and troves of alleged victims’ identification photos have been posted on 4Chan and X.
NBC News has not verified the authenticity of the photos or their provenance.
