Did you forget about the Tea app since my last report? The drama around the security breach of the women-only app, which works like Yelp allowing women to rate and review men anonymously, is ongoing.
Checking the Apple App Store, TeaOnHer, a men’s version of the app, ranks second on the Lifestyle charts, just under the original Tea. Despite backlash against Tea and data breaches involving women, TeaOnHer is also vulnerable to breaches.
TeaOnHer is the men’s version of Tea—developed by another company. The app allows men to rate and review women, upload photos, and label them without women’s access or responses. Unlike Tea, TeaOnHer has some key differences.
Tea went viral two weeks ago, topping Apple App Store charts after two years of quiet operation. This led to backlash and a coordinated data breach leaking thousands of female users’ verification photos. This was followed by a second breach involving private DMs, resulting in a class action lawsuit.
Tea continued thriving regardless, and competitors emerged. TeaOnHer imitated Tea’s tagline, with men anonymously reviewing women. According to TechCrunch, TeaOnHer users’ data is also susceptible to breaches. Efforts to contact Newville Media Corporation for comments remain unanswered, but TechCrunch warns of a security flaw exposing TeaOnHer users’ data, including usernames, emails, driver’s licenses, and selfies.
TeaOnHer differs in that it lacks comprehensive safety features Tea offers. Tea’s features include background checks, cross-referencing sex offender lists, reverse-image searches, and more to identify threats. In contrast, TeaOnHer promotes identifying red flags and positive experiences without robust resources.
TeaOnHer has a two-star App Store rating from 184 reviews, mainly criticizing app functionality, account creation issues, and login problems. Few reviews mention the fundamental issues with people-rating apps or insecure data storage.
No lessons seem learned about the risk of anonymous accusations and uploading verification images, as the cycle continues. Maybe next week will bring new developments, but for now, enjoy the weekend.