The women's dating safety app Tea has suspended messaging after a cybersecurity incident exposed thousands of images, posts, comments, and direct messages. The US-based app, which helps women conduct background checks on potential dates, acknowledged that some sensitive conversations were accessed.

• Tea has 1.6 million users, and the breach affected members who signed up before February 2024.
• The company will be offering free identity protection services to affected individuals, as sensitive conversations in direct messages could include names and private material, potentially leading to blackmail.
• Previously, 72,000 user-submitted images were accessed, including some showing women holding identity verification for which Tea's privacy policy promised immediate deletion.