Tea app’s second data breach exposed over a million private messages

In a troubling turn of events, the dating safety application Tea has suffered a significant data breach, leading to the exposure of over 1.1 million private messages. This alarming incident follows a previous breach that compromised 72,000 sensitive images, including selfies and photo IDs intended for account verification. Reports from 404 Media, following insights from independent security researcher Kasra Rahjerdi, indicate that the latest breach revealed not only private messages but also discussions among users about sharing phone numbers, abortions, and infidelity. This data was allegedly disseminated on the forum 4chan, raising serious concerns about the security of user information. Tea, which aims to create a safe space for women to discuss their dating experiences, had previously announced that the first breach impacted only those users who registered before February 2024. However, the recent findings suggest a much broader vulnerability, affecting messages exchanged from early 2023 up until now. Despite its recent notoriety due to these breaches, Tea has rapidly climbed the ranks, currently holding the second position in the Apple App Store's top free apps. The developers are now under scrutiny as they work to mitigate the fallout from these security lapses and restore user trust.