Tea said the initial breach exposed about 72,000 images, including verification selfies and images containing photo IDs, as well as images shared in the app. Tea later acknowledged that some direct messages were also accessed. Separately, TechCrunch reported an independent researcher’s finding of more than 1.1 million messages. Those figures describe different kinds of data and do not establish how many individual users were affected.
What information was exposed?
In its initial disclosure, Tea told the Associated Press that unauthorized access involved approximately 72,000 images. The company divided that total into two groups:
- About 13,000 verification images: selfies or selfies paired with photo identification that users submitted for account verification.
- About 59,000 in-app images: images from posts, comments, and direct messages.
Tea said the image incident involved legacy data from before February 2024 and affected users who signed up before that month. The company also told AP that email addresses and phone numbers were not accessed in this image incident. These are Tea’s descriptions of the incident’s scope, not findings from an independent audit. AP’s report on Tea’s initial disclosure
Were direct messages exposed?
Yes. In a later update, Tea acknowledged that some direct messages were accessed as part of the incident and said it took the affected system offline. AP reported that Tea did not then know how many messages had been exposed. AP’s follow-up on the DM disclosure
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TechCrunch subsequently reported that independent security researcher Kasra Rahjerdi found more than 1.1 million messages, dated from early 2023 through the week of discovery. That is a reported message count, not a count of users. It is also a separate finding from Tea’s approximate 72,000-image total. The reported message dates extend beyond the pre-February-2024 window Tea gave for the legacy image data; the two windows should not be treated as identical. TechCrunch’s report on the researcher’s findings
How do the two disclosures differ?
| Reported data | What it included | Time period described | Basis of the figure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approximately 72,000 images | About 13,000 verification selfies or selfie-and-ID images, plus about 59,000 images from posts, comments, and DMs | Tea said the legacy image data was from before February 2024 and affected signups before that cutoff | Tea’s initial scope statement, reported by AP |
| More than 1.1 million messages | Messages; this count does not indicate how many users were affected | Early 2023 through the week of discovery, as reported by TechCrunch | Independent researcher’s finding, reported by TechCrunch |
Neither number tells readers how many unique people were affected, and the reporting does not establish that every image or message was downloaded or published.
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What did Tea say it was doing?
Tea said it would identify users whose information was involved and offer those users free identity protection services. AP also reported Tea’s statement at the time that it had found no evidence of access to other parts of its environment. That statement describes what Tea said it had found then; it is not independent proof that all other data was untouched. AP’s follow-up on Tea’s response
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What should affected users do?
Follow any direct notice from Tea and use the identity-protection offer if Tea identifies you as affected. The reporting does not establish that a paid monitoring product is necessary. For general account security, use unique passwords and turn on multifactor authentication where available, especially for email and accounts that can reset other passwords.
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The incident also raises a broader data-retention question. Tea said it required selfies and IDs during its early development, then removed the ID requirement in 2023; its statement about that history was reproduced by Simon Willison. Mary Ann Miller, a Prove executive quoted by AP, advised companies to consider identity verification methods other than IDs and to securely discard verification data when it is no longer needed. That is expert advice, not a regulatory requirement. AP’s report quoting Miller
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