Viral 'Tea' app lets women review their dates, sparks privacy concerns

(NewsNation) — An app designed to help women spot "red-flag men" and catch cheaters is going viral.

Tea, which markets itself as a dating safety app for women, has surged to the top of Apple's U.S. App Store. It lets women anonymously post photos of the men they're dating — or considering dating — to gauge other women's experiences with them.

"Ask our anonymous community of women to make sure your date is safe, not a catfish, and not in a relationship," Tea's App Store description says.

Once verified as a woman (no men allowed), users gain access to a nationwide forum of posts and can even set alerts on men's names to check for cheating reports.

Founder Sean Cook came up with the idea after witnessing his mother’s experience with online dating, which included catfishing and "unknowingly engaging with men who had criminal records," according to the app's website.

Tea touts safety tools like background checks, catfish image searches, sex offender screening and phone number lookups — helping women get "the tea," slang for gossip, on the men in their area.

But what's "tea" to one person might be a privacy breach to another, and the app has drawn criticism on social media, with some likening it to a dystopian "Black Mirror" episode.

Women don't need men's permission to post their photos, raising concerns that the app may be used less for safety and more for revenge.

"What a horrific deterrent for men to be active in the dating scene. Anyone can make up literally whatever they want," a Reddit user wrote in response to a post calling for the app to be deleted.

One user on X claimed their photo was posted on the app without their consent but eventually got it taken down after filing an App Store Dispute Form.

Attorney William Barnwell recently told Fox 2 Detroit that men could have civil legal recourse if the posts affect their work, family life or reputation since defamation might apply.

"I could see some areas where this could cause people some big problems," Barnwell said. "Truth is an absolute defense for a defamation claim; you can’t just sue someone because your feelings are hurt."

NewsNation reached out to Tea about critics' concerns, but the app maker declined to comment. Tea's contact page includes a dedicated email for "takedown requests" but does not disclose what that process entails.

The viral app isn't a novel concept and is reminiscent of "Are We Dating the Same Guy" Facebook groups that attracted millions of members. What's different is that the information is now centralized, making it easier for users to pool and compare feedback — or pile on.

Tea said its community had grown to over 4 million women in a TikTok video Thursday, and its website is full of testimonials from users lauding the app's safety features.

"This app is an absolute lifesaver in the hellscape that is modern dating," one testimonial reads.

Another reviewer called the app "essential in today's society" and said it provides a "crucial way for women to uncover the truth about who they're engaging with."

Users can react to posts with green flags, a feature meant to boost men they've had positive experiences with — though it's unclear whether that's the norm.

The app says 10% of profits are donated to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Tea had a 4.7 rating on more than 60,000 reviews in the App Store.

According to Tea's terms of use, the app's content is for informational purposes only, makes no guarantees about its accuracy and doesn't verify user statements.