Apple has officially removed Tea, a women’s dating safety app that went viral earlier this year, from the App Store following multiple data breaches and mounting privacy concerns.
Currently, users trying to access the app’s page on the App Store are met with the message: “This app is currently not available in your country or region.”
In a statement to 404 Media, Apple confirmed that it had removed Tea — along with a copycat app called TeaOnHer — for violating its terms of use related to content moderation and user privacy. The company said it received a large number of complaints, including reports that personal data belonging to minors was being posted on the app.
Apple referenced its App Store guidelines, which prohibit apps from sharing personal data without permission and require them to provide a way for users to report objectionable content.
Randy Nelson, head of insights and media resources at app analytics company Appfigures, was the first to notice and alert 404 Media about the app’s removal.
Originally launched a few years ago, Tea gained massive popularity this summer for its unique concept that allowed women to share “red flags” about men they dated. According to its website, the app let users “find verified green flag men,” “run background checks,” and “identify potential catfish.” Every user was verified as a woman through a selfie upload system.
However, after gaining viral attention, Tea became a target of online harassment. Trolls from the infamous 4chan forum discovered an exposed database containing users’ driver’s licenses and selfies. Just days later, 404 Media reported another data breach that compromised users’ direct messages, which included highly sensitive conversations about abortions and infidelity.
Following the second breach, Tea disabled its direct messaging feature entirely. A class action lawsuit was later filed by one of the app’s users. Despite these controversies, Tea continued to grow its user base, according to a previous statement the company made to 404 Media.
404 Media also published a detailed investigation into Tea and its founder Sean Cook, revealing that the company had tried to hijack the popular “Are We Dating the Same Guy” Facebook community by paying influencers to undermine it and creating nearly identical competing pages. That same report uncovered a third security breach, which leaked the personal data of women promoting the app through its affiliate program.
While Tea has been removed from Apple’s App Store, it remains available on the Google Play Store. Several other apps using “Tea” in their names with similar dating safety features are still listed on the App Store.
As of Wednesday, Tea continues to post on its official social media accounts, including Instagram. In its latest post, the company described itself as:
“The first ever girls-only space that truly amplifies women’s voices and gives them an anonymous space to share their experiences, find comfort, and get the info they need on the man they’re talking to, in the name of DATING SAFETY💜”
One comment under that post summed up users’ reactions in three simple words:
“App is gone.”