Apple Pulls Women’s Dating Safety App from App Store
▼ Summary
– Apple removed the women’s safety app Tea from the App Store for violating terms on content moderation and user privacy, following numerous complaints including about minors’ data.
– The Tea app, which allowed women to share information about dates and required selfie verification, went viral but suffered multiple data breaches exposing user data like driver’s licenses and direct messages.
– After breaches, Tea disabled direct messaging, faced a class action lawsuit, and an investigation revealed it tried to undermine the “Are We Dating the Same Guy” community through paid influencers and competing pages.
– Despite the issues and removal from Apple’s App Store, Tea remains available on the Google Play Store and continues to post on social media promoting its dating safety features.
– Apple also removed a copycat app called TeaOnHer for similar violations, citing guidelines against sharing personal data without permission and requiring objectionable content reporting mechanisms.
Apple has officially removed the women’s dating safety application Tea from its App Store, citing violations of its terms of use related to content moderation and user privacy. A message now appears on the app’s store page stating, “This app is currently not available in your country or region.” Apple confirmed the removal in a communication with media outlets, also taking down a similar application called TeaOnHer. The company pointed to an excessive volume of complaints, including reports that personal information belonging to minors had been posted within the apps.
According to Apple’s guidelines, applications are prohibited from distributing an individual’s private data without consent and must offer a reliable method for reporting inappropriate material. Randy Nelson, who leads insights and media resources at app intelligence firm Appfigures, first brought attention to the removal.
Tea originally launched several years ago but surged in popularity this summer, reaching the top of the App Store charts. The platform was designed as a space for women to exchange information and identify potential concerns about people they were dating. Its website promoted the ability to “find verified green flag men,” conduct background checks, and detect possible catfishing attempts. A key feature involved verifying that every user was female by requiring a selfie upload.
After gaining widespread attention, the service became a target for members of the trolling and harassment forum 4chan. They discovered an exposed database containing driver’s licenses and selfies submitted by Tea’s users. Shortly afterward, a second security breach came to light, exposing users’ direct messages, some of which included sensitive conversations about topics like abortions and infidelity.
In response, Tea disabled its direct messaging function entirely. A user also filed a class action lawsuit against the application. Despite these security incidents, Tea previously stated that its user base continued to grow.
Further reporting uncovered that Tea and its CEO, Sean Cook, had attempted to co-opt the “Are We Dating the Same Guy” community, a network of Facebook groups recognized for helping women stay safe. Tea reportedly paid influencers to undermine these groups and created competing Facebook pages with nearly identical names. This investigation also revealed a third security lapse, which exposed the personal information of women who had been compensated to promote Tea through an affiliate program.
While Tea is no longer available on Apple’s platform, it remains accessible for download on the Google Play Store. Several other applications with “tea” in their name, offering comparable services, are still listed in the Apple App Store.
As of this week, Tea continues to post on its social media accounts, including Instagram. A recent upload from approximately 13 hours ago describes the app as “The first ever girls-only space that truly amplifies women’s voices and gives them an anonymous space to share their experiences, find comfort, and get the info they need on the man they’re talking to, in the name of DATING SAFETY💜” One user replied to the post with a simple observation: “App is gone.”
(Source: 404 Media)