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CBS News
a day ago
- CBS News
Tea dating app sparks uptick in divorce filings, Michigan attorney claims
The developer of the popular dating app Tea Dating Advice says it was designed to help women date safely, and was designed by a man whose mother had terrible dating experiences using other online platforms. But according to one attorney who practices family law in Dearborn, Michigan, the app is to blame for a recent uptick in divorce filings. "One party's picture profile might have been uploaded online, and then, you know, their friends and family find out, and the embarrassment from it just leads to, then just leads to them filing for divorce," said Mohamed Ali Hammoud, associate attorney at Mourad Law. Hammoud says he filed about a dozen divorce cases in the past month and took a dozen more inquiries. "Dearborn, especially like in much of Detroit, it's a very tight-knit community, so everybody knows everything, especially on the neighborhoods and stuff like that," Hammoud said. "So when there's a person suspected of cheating on a wife, a family with a wife of three children, the majority of the community is going to find out." The app even spawned a copycat called Teaborn, which was quickly shut down after nude photos were uploaded. "Your version of a date on the Tea app is one thing, but for you to go and leak public, leak nudes, and other images, completely unacceptable," Hammoud said. Hammoud says his law office has also fielded calls regarding defamation lawsuits. "For you to have a defamation case, you have to prove that that information was false and misleading, and it was published to a third party," Hammoud said. Hammoud says the cost to file a defamation lawsuit can be anywhere between $5,000 and $10,000. Hammoud adds that it's much cheaper to file for divorce. CBS News Detroit has reached out to the developer of the Tea app for comment.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Tea app fuels divorce and controversy in Dearborn, sparks copycat platforms like Teaborn
The Tea Dating Advice app, advertised as "the first-ever dating safety platform for women," has taken social media by storm. In metro Detroit — particularly among the Muslim community — it has been especially popular. A Dearborn-based app developer even launched Teaborn, a rival gossip app to Tea open to everyone, but it was short-lived after nude photos were shared, its creator said. Tea, which recently experienced security issues, allows users to anonymously share information about men they have dated or interacted with, or seek insight on men they are interested in. Family attorney Mohamed Ali Hammoud of Mourad Law in Dearborn said he has handled about a dozen divorce filings in which the women-only platform played a role. "One party may have suspicions about the other person cheating, and then the Tea app just confirmed it, or was the final straw for them," he said. "Due to the public embarrassment" and "shock from it, they felt like divorce was the right option." Hammoud said many of his clients are Muslim, and within the small, tight-knit community, gossip 'spreads like wildfire.' While the app may help women uncover hidden truths, he said, it can also spread false claims fueled by jealousy or resentment. Detroit resident and social media influencer Denise Bradley, known online as Aunt Karen, says she uses the Tea app only to observe what others are saying rather than post anything herself. "I joined the app because I was interested to see what the big deal was after I saw people on TikTok, primarily men, complaining about it," Bradley told the Free Press. "I think the app allows women to give their perspective on men who they're dating, men who are in their lives, who may have messaged them or are maybe seeking to date them." Tea has drawn significant backlash since rising to prominence this summer, but women like Bradley say it provides a necessary space. As of August, the app says it has more than 6.2 million users. "All women should deserve to be safe, especially in the society and the world that we live in," Bradley said. "Having some sort of knowledge and utilizing that knowledge for your own safety is important." How Tea works Tea was founded by Sean Cook "after witnessing his mother's terrifying experience with online dating — not only being catfished but unknowingly engaging with men who had criminal records," according to the app's website. Users are shown posts of men in their area with photos and first names, allowing women to assign a 'red flag' or 'green flag' and comment based on personal experience or what they've learned from others. Women can search names or phone numbers directly or set up custom alerts for specific men. Additional features include background checks, criminal record searches, sex offender searches and reverse image searches to help identify catfishing attempts, according to Tea. To join Tea, women must verify their identity by submitting selfies. There is now a waitlist to be approved into the app, which could take days. All users are meant to remain anonymous, and the app disables screenshots. To her surprise, Bradley said, she knows some of the men who have been posted. "A few of my friends and others in my circle have had their husbands posted, and now they're questioning, 'Are you talking to other people?'" she said. "One of my friends' husbands did admit to talking to someone else, and they're currently trying to see if they're going to work on things or if they're going to get a divorce. So, the Tea app has definitely brought some things out into the light." Similar apps keep popping up: Teaborn, TeaOnHer Similar gossip platforms have emerged since Tea grew in popularity. And because the app became so prevalent in Dearborn, 21-year-old app developer and resident, Mohamed Saleh, decided to create one for the city: Teaborn. Open to all, not just women, it quickly scaled the Apple App Store's social networking charts but was shut down only three hours later, after nude photos of women were posted without their consent. Saleh, who previously focused on creating self-improvement apps, said he rushed to launch Teaborn after seeing Tea's success. He said he took it offline himself when he began receiving alarming messages due to the explicit photos — including one from a man claiming his sister had been taken to the ER for a panic attack, and another from a woman threatening to harm herself if a post wasn't removed immediately. 'That was the final straw,' he said. 'I put up a pop-up saying I was no longer participating, and that was the end of the app.' More: Attorneys say WDIV's Hank Winchester 'exonerated and cleared,' call accusations 'baseless' Teaborn has since been acquired by a group, which Saleh said he could not disclose. The 21-year-old emphasized he is no longer involved with Teaborn or any of the copycat apps that have been created after it — such as Teaborn: Dating Advice, which also disappeared from the app store within days in late July, but recently returned under a new name. "I think all these apps are terrible," he said, adding that he regrets creating Teaborn. "If I could go back in time, I would not have made it at all. I was in a greedy zone where I just saw an opportunity. I just didn't think it would be that bad. ... I should have gone straight to working on what I'm working on right now instead of making a stop on a gossip app." Saleh has since teamed up with a friend to create DermSense, an AI-powered skin cancer detection model they claim could save lives. But there is currently no way of stopping other gossip apps from being created in response to Tea. One of the more prevalent men-only versions, TeaOnHer Dating Advice, briefly surpassed the women-only platform on Apple's free apps chart on Aug. 12 — TeaOnHer ranked second while Tea ranked third. As of Aug. 18, Tea sits at No. 3 while TeaOnHer has fallen to No. 8. Security breaches raise privacy concerns, lead to lawsuits Tea says identity verification selfies are deleted after review. However, that promise of privacy was called into question after the company detected unauthorized access to one of its systems on July 25. Tea confirmed about 72,000 images were accessed, including roughly 13,000 selfies and ID photos, and 59,000 images publicly visible in posts, comments or messages. Only users who signed up before February 2024 were affected. The app had phased out ID verification before the leak. On July 28, 404 Media reported a second security breach that exposed more than 1.1 million direct messages exchanged on the app between early 2023 and July 2025. According to Tea, it has since temporarily taken down the direct messaging feature. In a statement to the Free Press, Tea spokesperson Taylor Osumi said the app has brought in cybersecurity experts and is working with the FBI to investigate. Tea is also working to identify impacted users and will offer free identity protection services to those affected. "I was upset to hear about the recent data leak. Women should have the ability to express ourselves in a secure and respectful space. This breach only reinforces how little support we truly have when we try to use our voices," Bradley said. "My opinion about the Tea app hasn't changed. The moment men got their hands on our data, they began exploiting it. This only confirms that they care more about silencing women than actually supporting us." As a result of the breach, at least 10 lawsuits seeking class action status have been filed in federal and state courts over negligent data practices and breach of contract, according to NBC News. Attorneys leading the cases say the app's failure to protect sensitive data has caused emotional distress, harassment and potential identity theft for users, and could have catastrophic consequences for the company. Like Tea, TeaOnHer had major security flaws, according to TechCrunch, exposing names, emails, locations, driver's license photos and other personal data. Some explicit images were also visible to guest users, the technology news outlet reported. The flaws have reportedly been fixed, but it's unclear how many users were affected. Neither TeaOnHer nor CEO Xavier Lampki has made a public statement on the security issues. More: Former graduate student sues Michigan State University for $100 million Impact on the Muslim community Imam Mustapha Elturk, president of the Islamic Organization of North America, said the Tea app illustrates the broader risks of social media. 'Social media is good when it is intended to be good, but its evil is greater than good," he said. "We have seen how social media has destroyed families, separated husbands and wives, and alienated children from their parents. ...We need to be very careful how we use these platforms, such as Tea." Bradley, who is part of the metro Detroit Muslim community and frequently visits Dearborn, said Tea's popularity reflects frustrations with traditional dating norms. "Why the app is so popular in the Muslim community right now is because we know that a lot of the men date around. We know that. The issue is how they go about it, and how a lot of them judge women," Bradley said. "Men are out here doing what they want, and then they go look for a good Muslim woman. That, to me, is not fair. In a way, the Tea app kind of gives a voice to the voiceless." She added that the attention on the community may be unwanted but is 'very important' because it forces public discussion of long-standing issues. "None of this is new. We've all known this stuff happens. What's upsetting a lot of people is that the world is seeing it. It's no longer just inside Dearborn." Saleh said he was not posted on the Tea app himself but knows "plenty of guys" in Dearborn who have been — some disputing the claims as lies or dredged-up history. "Their family has heard about it. They usually find out from their sisters," he said. "They've been sending emails to the Tea legal team, trying to get it taken down, but I don't think they've been successful." While the app has caused concerns, Saleh said he sees how it can be a modern way to vet potential partners, but still questions how reliable it is. "I think the idea of it is great; I would want that for my sisters," Saleh said. "But there's something called the Yelp bias, where people only leave bad reviews. So you never get an accurate review — because people who have a good experience just move on, and the people with a bad experience are the ones (who) actually leave a review, or leave a red flag in this case." Are these gossip apps legal? The Tea app and similar gossip platforms currently exist in a legal gray area that courts have yet to address. 'The issue becomes, is this protected speech?' Hammoud said. 'If it's determined that it's free speech, it's protected speech, then there's little recourse' for those posted. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects online platforms like Tea from liability for content posted by users, treating them as distributors rather than publishers. Hammoud said individuals posted on Tea or similar gossip apps generally have three options: ignore it, send a cease-and-desist letter to the app or hire a civil attorney. Defamation claims, however, are difficult. Plaintiffs must prove the statements were false, shared publicly and caused tangible harm — often beyond damage to reputation — such as lost income, business, contracts, emotional distress or other measurable damage. 'The hardest thing is proving damages,' Hammoud said. "That requires an expert, and it requires you getting your own attorney, so you end up spending thousands of dollars to try to clear your name. ...You have to prove (damages) in civil court, and ultimately, that would be up to a judge or jury." Because posts on these apps are anonymous, determining who shared a photo or message is another obstacle. A screenshot, for example, may have been taken from an Instagram account and sent in a private group chat before being posted on Tea, the attorney said. Tracing a post's origin often requires phone records, metadata and expert analysis. While the longevity of the Tea app remains unclear, women like Bradley want to see it last. "In society, women are often told not to speak on these things," she said. "I don't want the tea app to go away; I think men should be held accountable, and they should reflect on their behavior." Nour Rahal is a trending and breaking news reporter. Email her: nrahal@ Follow her on Twitter @nrahal1. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tea app was a factor in several divorce filings, Dearborn attorney says Solve the daily Crossword
