The women-only dating app Tea experienced a significant data breach, exposing over 72,000 private images, including selfies and government IDs, due to its unsecured database. Originally intended to protect users from harmful interactions by requiring verification documents, the app's backend was found completely exposed without any password protection or encryption. Hackers quickly leaked the sensitive data online, making it searchable and widely disseminated. Tea had gained immense popularity, reaching 1 on the App Store with over 4 million users, but this incident undermined its reputation and safety promises. The breach involved both recent and older data, contradicting claims by the app's developers that only outdated information was compromised. Critics pointed to the app's reliance on 'vibe coding' — a casual approach to app development without rigorous security reviews — as a critical factor in the failure, highlighting concerns over the growing reliance on AI in app development and associated security risks. Users are advised to monitor their identities following the breach.

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