Tea (app)

Tea Dating Advice
Developer(s)Tea Dating Advice, Inc.
Initial release2023
Operating systemiOS, Android
TypeSocial networking
Websitewww.teaforwomen.com Edit this on Wikidata

Tea, officially known as Tea Dating Advice, is a women-only[1] mobile phone app that allows the posting of personal data about men that users are currently, formerly, or interested in dating.[2][3] It has been described as a "whisper network" app.[4]

Its makers describe it as "more than an app; it's a sisterhood", and promise that it can "find verified green flag men".[5] A publicity release on the company's Instagram channel features a description of the app as "An app that's like Yelp, except for it's [sic] reviews of men."[2][6]

The app was first released in 2023.[7] As of July 2025, the app's developers claim it has over 4.6 million users.[5]

Features

The app allows women to both check and comment on men that they are personally dating.[7] Users are required to be a woman[1] and show an ID to access the app.[8] While identifying men, the app promises to keep its users anonymous.[9]

The app provides features that allow users to check men's public records, and to perform image searches.[10] It also provides functions for rating and reviewing men, and group chat facilities.[7][11]

Reception

Proponents have praised the app as an aid for women's safety by helping them check men for adultery, catfishing, criminal convictions and other "red flag" behaviors.[10][11][12]

Critics have described the application as a doxing app and a violation of privacy, an opportunity for defamation against innocent individuals, and a witch hunt.[2][3] In an interview with FOX 2, William Barnwell stated that claims for defamation might apply in regard to false information, but that truth is an absolute defence in such cases. He also stated that there might be concerns in regard to cyber harassment laws.[13]

4chan database leak

In July 2025, private messages, other personally identifying information, and approximately 72,000 images (13,000 selfies and photo IDs, and 59,000 images from app posts and direct messages) were leaked via 4chan.[14] Claims were made that its backend database was completely unsecured and without a password or any form of data encryption.[9][15]

According to R Street Institute, the leaked data suggested that Tea is actively storing user verification data past their terms of service guidelines.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Ellefson, Lindsey (July 25, 2025). "I Knew the Viral 'Tea' App Was Trouble, but I Didn't Expect a Data Breach". Lifehacker. Retrieved July 26, 2025. Next, Tea asked me to prove I was a woman. Ignoring the rigidity of that framing (and the potential implications for LGBTQ+ people) for the moment, I snapped a selfie with the in-app camera.
  2. ^ a b c Yu, Yi-Jin (July 25, 2025). "Tea dating advice app confirms hack, says 72K images, including selfies, accessed". ABC News. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Donnelly, Dylan (July 26, 2025). "What is Tea - the women-only app with millions of users?". Sky News. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  4. ^ "Dating is a nightmare. Whisper network apps won't save us". ca.style.yahoo.com. July 25, 2025. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Tea - Dating Safety for Women". www.teaforwomen.com. Archived from the original on July 26, 2025. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  6. ^ "theteapartygirls". Instagram. September 26, 2024. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  7. ^ a b c Williams, Elliot (July 25, 2025). "Women are reporting bad men on this app. Here's the legal tea on the app called Tea". CNN. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  8. ^ Tea. "Privacy". Tea For Women. Archived from the original on July 26, 2025. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  9. ^ a b c Weissmann, Shoshana. "The top app spills Tea—and user verification IDs". R Street Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  10. ^ a b Hunter, Tatum (July 24, 2025). "The Tea app lets women review their dates. Men are worried". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  11. ^ a b Smith, Serena (July 24, 2025). "Tea: Inside the new app where women anonymously review men". Dazed. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  12. ^ María José Gutierrez Chavez (July 25, 2025). "Everything to know about Tea, the viral and controversial app that lets women mark men as red flags". Fast Company. Archived from the original on July 25, 2025. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  13. ^ Dupnack, Jessica (July 9, 2025). "New dating safety app 'Tea' spills some controversy". Yahoo News. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  14. ^ Collier, Kevin; Yang, Angela (July 25, 2025). "Hackers leak 13,000 user photos and IDs from the Tea app, designed as a women's safe space". NBC News. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  15. ^ Lanz, Jose Antonio (July 25, 2025). "Tea App That Claimed to Protect Women Exposes 72,000 IDs in Epic Security Fail". Decrypt. Retrieved July 26, 2025.


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