What is Tea – the women-only app with millions of users?

Millions of women in the US have downloaded a “dating advice” app that claims it catches catfish, checks for hidden marriages and keeps users safe from men online.

According to App Store tracker SensorTower.com, Tea Dating Advice has become the most popular free app in the US, and is the number one lifestyle download.

It also claimed earlier this week to have recently gained close to a million new users, and said on Instagram it has more than four million women “in our community”.

However, the women-only app has come under fire for being “anti-men”, and for a data breach that saw 13,000 user photos leaked.

But what is Tea? And why has it proved controversial?

What is the app?

Tea Dating Advice is a women-only app that allows users to anonymously post about men they are dating in the US.

The app’s website says it was launched “to give women the tools they need to date safely” – and offers AI-powered reverse image searching to catch catfish using fake images on dating profiles.

It also offers phone number searching to check if men have “hidden marriages”, background checks to look for criminal records, and a map of registered sex offenders.

While these features aren’t unique to Tea – with most being publicly accessible – the app offers them in one package.

Tea also touts that it has “the largest women’s group chat in the US, where users share experiences, anonymous dating reviews, and support”.

Sean Cook, a Bay Area tech executive, founded and self-funded the app in 2023 because his mother was catfished and talked to men with criminal records while dating online.

Read more: ‘It’s not you, it’s dating’: Where is modern love going wrong?

Who can use it?

Only women can use the app, which requires users to register by creating a username including location, birth date, a photo and official identification.

Tea says it deletes all photos after a review, where moderators approve or deny applications and verify if new users are women.

All users who get accepted are promised anonymity outside of the usernames they choose, and taking screenshots of what’s in the app is also blocked.

Once approved, users can leave comments describing specific men as a “red flag” or “green flag”, and share other information about them.

Comments on Tea’s Instagram show that applications aren’t that straightforward however, with a number of people saying it takes days to be approved.

While men cannot use the app, Tea says any takedown requests should be emailed to their support desk with their name, location, as much information as possible about the content in question, as well as a photo.

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What are the concerns?

Tea has faced a heavy backlash, with The Times calling it a “man-shaming” app, and a post in the MensRights subreddit saying it “must be deleted”.

Much like the Facebook pages it resembles, the app has also been criticised for devolving into places for gossip or for spreading possible misinformation about people.

Sky’s US partner network NBC News reported that judges in Illinois and California dismissed two defamation lawsuits filed by men who were posted in such Facebook groups.

Writing for the culture website Dazed, Serena Smith said it’s “clear how an app like Tea could be abused”, noting doxxing – where private information about someone is shared online with malicious intent – and concerns about men “who aren’t abusers” having their information published.

Speaking to Fox 2, lawyer William Barnwell said men could have civil legal recourse if the posts affect their work, family life, or reputation as defamation might apply.

A male-only version of the app – Cheeky – has also been launched, offering anonymous chats about dating. It says on it’s official Instagram that it’s “our response to the Tea App”.

However, NBC News reported the creator of Teaborn – a previous men-only alternative that climbed to number three in the free apps chart – had condemned its users for allegedly sharing revenge porn on that app.

What happened with the Tea data breach?

NBC News reported that thousands of accounts were leaked after a hacker managed to breach the company’s database.

Tea has confirmed the leak to Sky News, and said it had identified “unauthorised access to one of their systems and immediately launched a full investigation to assess the scope and impact”.

In preliminary findings, the company said the incident involved a legacy data storage system containing information from prior to February 2024.

It is estimated that around 72,000 images – including approximately 13,000 images of selfies or selfies featuring a photo identification submitted during account verification and 59,000 images publicly viewable in the app from posts, comments and direct messages – were accessed.

“Protecting Tea users’ privacy and data is their highest priority,” it said. “Tea is taking every necessary step to ensure the security of the platform and prevent further exposure.”

Posts on social media suggest the leak was first posted on 4chan and has been shared widely since then. Sky News has not independently verified any leaked information.