Tea App Leaked 72,000 Photos, IDs & DMs. This Is What Happens Without Real Devs

The hottest AI app of the year just turned into a case study on how not to launch a product. This story will make you think twice about who you trust to build your app.

Last week, the internet exploded.

Tea Dating App — the buzzy platform where women anonymously reviewed their dating experiences and flagged “red flags” — was supposed to be a safe space. Empowering, anonymous, AI-powered. All the buzzwords.

Then… it all leaked.

What happened?

• 72,000 images leaked — including ~13,000 ID and verification selfies

• 1.1 million direct messages — raw, emotional convos about cheating, divorce, abortion, meetups, even phone numbers and addresses

• User location data — yes, someone made an actual map of where users live

• The leak was posted on 4chan, with full download links

Imagine telling your story in what you think is a safe, supportive space… and waking up to find your photos, ID, and messages floating around online forums.

How did this happen?

The app exploded in popularity, but behind the scenes, the backend was duct-taped together.

Security researchers say the app stored private images and messages in a poorly secured Firebase database, where accessing them was frighteningly easy. It wasn’t even a “hack” — just bad development choices.

The Tea team took chats offline and issued a very corporate-sounding apology…

But the damage was done. And trust? Gone.

Why it’s terrifying:

• ID photos = identity theft risk

• Messages + locations = real-life stalking risk

• Some of the leaked content was highly personal and emotional

• The app was marketed as “safe for women.” That promise? Completely broken.

❗️Founders, listen up: AI is shiny. But trust is everything.

Everyone wants to launch fast. Plug in ChatGPT, ship an MVP, raise funds.

But here’s what Tea teaches us:

• Security isn’t something you “add later”

• Firebase isn’t magic — and misconfigured, it’s a disaster

• Bad architecture will bite you back at scale

Tea built fast, looked cool — and now they’re a cautionary tale.

⚠️ Want your app to stay out of the headlines?

We’re a team that builds AI products for the real world — not just for the pitch deck.

• Real architecture, built to scale

• AI integrations that actually work in production

• Security baked in from day one — not patched on day 99

📌 Your idea can be a success story.

Or tomorrow’s Reddit leak.

The difference?

Who you trust to build it.

Want to build something people can actually trust?

Let’s talk. If not — just don’t say we didn’t warn you.