Islamabad, July 28, 2025: Tea app data breach has sparked serious concerns after it was confirmed on Friday that a major leak exposed tens of thousands of user photographs.
As shared by the platform, hackers managed to get hold of around 72,000 pictures. This includes 13,000 identity-related images such as selfies and ID cards submitted for verification, along with 59,000 visuals pulled from user messages, comments, and posts. The company mentioned that no phone numbers or email accounts were leaked, and the incident only involved accounts made before February 2024.
“We have engaged third-party cybersecurity experts and are working around the clock to secure our systems,” the company stated. “At this time, we have implemented additional security measures and have fixed the data issue.”
404 Media was the first to report the leak, noting that individuals on 4chan claimed to be circulating personal content from the Tea app after finding an unsecured database.
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The tea app data breach comes at a time when the application is seeing a sharp rise in popularity. By Saturday morning, it was still holding the top spot among free apps on Apple’s App Store, showing both increased usage and public concern over safety on platforms handling personal content.
This incident sheds light on how fragile smaller digital communities can be, especially those that rely heavily on pictures submitted by users for profile verification and interaction.
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Although Tea reacted fast to the situation, there’s still no word on whether it plans to inform or compensate affected users.
As the company tries to manage the consequences, the situation raises wider concerns about how new digital platforms can secure sensitive information while handling rapid growth.
