The women-centric dating app Tea experienced a severe data breach after its backend was discovered unsecured. Over 72,000 users' private information, including selfies and government IDs meant for verification, was leaked and is now publicly accessible via online platforms. Initial investigations revealed that the exposed data totaled around 59.3 GB, containing images and messages dated as recently as 2024 and 2025, countering Tea's claim that only older data was involved. The situation arose from poor app coding practices labeled as 'vibe coding,' where developers rely heavily on AI tools without ensuring adequate security measures. Critics highlighted that the verification process requiring government IDs to prevent fake accounts backfired, causing the very community it aimed to protect to be vulnerable. Despite the original hacker's disclosure about the app's shortcomings, no official response from Tea has been reported yet. This incident follows a growing trend of breaches related to misapplied AI systems, emphasizing the critical need for thorough security protocols when developing applications.

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