Tea, an exclusive dating app for women in the United States is taking some heavy fire. An ongoing and significant security breach has understandably sent its 1.6 million users into a tizz. The app allows women to anonymously connect the dots on their experiences with men they’ve dated to help identify potential warning signs that can lead to abuse. In response, as a precautionary measure it has now taken its messaging feature offline.
That hack first came to light in late July. Hackers have leaked 72,000 images and private discussions, jeopardizing the safety and privacy of users. These discussions open the door to more difficult topics such as abortion and cheating. Later in this post, we discuss how such conversations can greatly undermine user privacy and safety.
Tea’s platform allows women to showcase not only “red flag” traits but “green flag” qualities in men they’ve met. After the recent breach, there’s been concern that the exposed messages and images would be used to harass. Kevin Marriott, senior manager at cybersecurity firm Immersive, noted that the situation is particularly alarming for users who have shared personal details, including addresses and meet-up locations.
“The fact that criminals potentially have both images and the associated account’s direct messages should raise the level of concern among users.” – Kevin Marriott
Rachael Percival, a cybersecurity expert, echoed these concerns and emphasized that conversations could contain private material that opens the door to potential blackmail or emotional harm.
“Conversations could include names, details of past relationships, or other private material, opening the door to blackmail or emotional harm.” – Rachael Percival
While users wait for more information from Tea about the unfolding story, users should otherwise be on high alert. The app’s development team has said they will share more information as it becomes available. These include credit monitoring, fraud alerts, and ID theft insurance or reimbursement, among others, which are all important protections for impacted consumers.
As mentioned above, the breach creates the troubling implication for user safety on platforms, like Twitch, that were designed to foster social interaction. Tea specially empowers women to present their stories and alarm men the ladies date. This hack has the power to break individual users’ trust and rattle confidence in the app’s capacity to keep a safe space.