Tea app banished from Apple App Store

Apple has apparently removed the women-centric dating app, Tea, from its app store. This comes after the app compromised the personal data of thousands of its users.

Tea, otherwise known as Tea Dating App, has reportedly been removed from the Apple App Store for failing to meet Apple’s terms of use surrounding content moderation and user privacy, the tech giant told 404 Media.

Alongside compromising adult users’ privacy in a massive data breach that exposed 72,000 images and personal data, Apple said that minors’ personal data was also being posted in the apps.

The tech giant had reportedly received a multitude of complaints about the Tea Dating App and its clone, TeaOnHer.

Apple told journalists that its guidelines don’t allow users to share personal data on others without their consent and that apps require tools that let users report this type of content, 404 Media reported.

The data breach that rocked the internet

The all-female app that allowed women to vet their dates by inputting data and pictures of the men they planned on meeting was infiltrated by hackers who stole 72,000 images, including 13,000 selfies and photo identifications submitted during user verification.

However, Tea backtracked and said that only 59,000 photos were exfiltrated during the hack.

Users from 4chan claimed to have discovered an exposed database hosted on Firebase that belongs to Tea.

Not only was Tea compromised once, but it was reportedly hacked again, leaking “much more” data than the company initially thought. The site was promptly taken down following the second leak.

Tea eventually sent breach notification letters to affected users, in which it stated that only 0.1% of its user base had been impacted.

What is the Tea Dating App?

Tea is a women-only mobile phone app where women can anonymously share and search for information on men.

Users can give advice on dates and provide photos of men they’re interested in dating.

This was used to help users catch catfish and scammers, find hidden marriages, and perform background checks to check for criminal records.

It was also previously reported that women were given access to a list of registered sex offenders.

While the concept sounds good in theory, in practice, it turned out to be a complete cybersecurity nightmare.

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