Apple Removes Tea And TeaOnHer Apps Over Privacy Issues And User Complaints

Apple has removed dating review apps Tea and TeaOnHer from its App Store amid rising concerns over privacy issues. The tech giant removed the apps as they failed to meet the content moderation and user privacy requirements, according to a TechCrunch report. The apps were removed on Oct. 21.

Although the apps are no longer live on Apple's platform, they're still available on Google Play, according to App Store analytics provider Appfigures, the TechCrunch report added.

The Tea app became popular with its anonymous dating reviews, prompting many imitators. Apple told TechCrunch that Tea Dating Advice and TeaOnHer apps were removed from the App Store after the company saw an undue number of user complaints and negative reviews, including claims that children's personal data had been leaked. Apple reached out to the developers of each app prior to removing the apps, but they did not resolve the issues, the TechCrunch report stated.

Both apps attracted significant attention after going viral earlier this year. Initially released in 2023, Tea became popular in 2025 and was created as a dating safety app for women. It enabled women to post information about men, such as personal information, user-style reviews, as well as ‘green flag’ or ‘red flag’ ratings. Many men criticised the app, questioning whether sharing such information could amount to defamation and expressing concerns about privacy intrusions.

The app’s popularity came with a cost. Over the summer, Tea suffered a data breach exposing 72,000 images, including 3,000 selfies and photo IDs submitted for account verification, along with 59,000 images from posts, comments and direct messages.

Another app, TeaOnHer, later emerged to let men post reviews about women in a similar format. Yet, it too faced safety issues, with reports in August 2025 revealing that users’ personal information, including government IDs and selfies, had been compromised, according to TechCrunch.

Numbers from Appfigures state that Tea has been downloaded 6.1 million times and made $5 million in gross revenue, while TeaOnHer registered 2.2 million downloads without providing in-app purchases. The apps continue to be available on Google Play for the moment despite the App Store removals.

The removal has also caused an influx of substitute apps. For example, TeaOnHer and Him – Overheard has attained 3.54 lakh downloads, jumping from No. 90 to No. 27 within the Overall Top App Charts, showing growing interest in alternative platforms.