After Tea Leak, 33,000 Women's Addresses Were Purportedly Mapped on Google Maps

The dating-advice app Tea experienced a significant data leak, exposing user information. This breach led to the creation of online maps showing the purported locations of 33,000 women who used the app, hosted on Google Maps. Google promptly removed these maps for violating their harassment policies. Following the leak, over ten class-action lawsuits have been filed against Tea's parent company. The leaked data has also surfaced on various websites, apps, and even a disturbing "game" where users rated women's selfies. Researcher estimates indicate over 12,000 posts referencing the Tea app appeared on 4Chan in the weeks after the breach. The app had previously faced criticism due to the potential for defamation and doxxing. Some men's groups, holding grievances against the app, viewed the data leak as an opportunity for retaliation. Additionally, Tea's founder reportedly attempted to recruit a prominent administrator of "Are We Dating the Same Guy?" Facebook groups. When this recruitment failed, Tea allegedly engaged in tactics to undermine these groups, including paying influencers and creating similar, potentially misleading, Facebook pages. The founder also assumed a female persona on the app for technical support purposes.