A class action lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges that Tea Dating Advice, a women-only dating safety app, exposed sensitive personal information of tens of thousands of users through inadequate security measures, leading to widespread online harassment.
The lawsuit, filed in US District Court for the Southern District of New York, claims the app suffered two major data breaches in July 2025 that exposed approximately 72,000 images and over one million private messages from users.
Tea, which markets itself as “the safest space to spill tea,” was designed to help women share dating experiences and access safety tools like background checks. Users were required to upload government IDs and selfies for verification.
According to court documents, the company stored user data in an unsecured online storage system accessible to anyone with the URL. The breach exposed verification photos, government IDs, and private conversations about sensitive topics.
Following the breach, users’ personal information was distributed on anonymous forums, leading to harassment campaigns and the creation of websites designed to publicly rate users’ appearance, the lawsuit alleges.
“An App meant for women to feel safe and to protect them from men who may hurt them, harass them, stalk them, or worse, has now put them at risk of these exact harms,” the complaint states.
The San Francisco-based company, which reported having over 4 million US users as of July 2025, acknowledged the breach in a statement but provided limited details about the scope.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and court orders requiring improved data security measures.
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