Tea, an app designed to let women safely discuss men they date, has been breached, exposing thousands of user images and photo IDs, the company confirmed Friday.

According to a spokesperson, approximately 72,000 images were leaked online. This includes about 13,000 selfies or selfies paired with photo identification that users submitted during account verification. An additional 59,000 images --publicly viewable in posts, comments, and direct messages-- were also accessed without authorization.

The company said no email addresses or phone numbers were compromised, and the breach affects only users who signed up before February 2024.

“Tea has engaged third-party cybersecurity experts and is working around the clock to secure its systems,” the company said in a statement. “At this time, there is no evidence to suggest additional user data was affected. Protecting Tea users’ privacy and data is our highest priority.”

Tea markets itself as a platform where women can anonymously vet men they meet through dating apps like Tinder or Bumble, offering a layer of safety and transparency. The app’s store description says it helps users ensure their date is “safe, not a catfish, and not in a relationship.”

“Tea is a must-have app, helping women avoid red flags before the first date with dating advice, and showing them who’s really behind the profile,” the listing reads.

404 Media, which first reported the breach, said users on the message board 4chan discovered an exposed database that “allowed anyone to access the material” from Tea.

“While reporting this story, a URL posted by a 4chan user included a voluminous list of specific attachments associated with the Tea app,” 404 Media reported. “In the last hour or so, that page was locked down and now returns a ‘Permission denied’ error.”

Tea said in a recent Instagram post that the app has reached 4 million users.

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