Latest news with #XavierLampkin
Express Tribune
5 days ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
TeaOnHer: Viral app for anonymous posts about women faces security flaws and criticism
A new app called TeaOnHer is gaining attention on Apple's App Store, offering men a platform to post anonymously about women. Marketed as a 'safety companion,' it mirrors the original Tea app, which allows women to share anonymous reports about men. The app climbed to No. 3 in the store's free app chart this week, just behind the original Tea app and ChatGPT. TeaOnHer's description promises 'verified reports about dating experiences to help identify red flags' and allows users to post under pseudonyms. Since launching earlier this month, the app has been downloaded over 165,000 times, according to estimates from marketing intelligence firm Sensor Tower. However, it holds an average App Store rating of 2.0, compared to Tea's 4.6. Security concerns have already surfaced. Security researcher's discovered a flaw in TeaOnHer's publicly accessible API that exposed user content, including reviews and images of women posted on the platform. TechCrunch reported a similar vulnerability, claiming it also allowed access to verification selfies, driver's licences, usernames, and email addresses. TeaOnHer has not responded to requests for comment. Xavier Lampkin, listed as CEO of developer Newville Media Corporation, has also remained silent. The launch of TeaOnHer comes shortly after a major security breach at the original Tea app, which exposed 72,000 images, private messages, and sensitive identification documents. Lawsuits were quickly filed against Tea Dating Advice, its official name.
Engadget
06-08-2025
- Engadget
There's a Tea app for men, and it also has security problems
Tea bills itself as a safety dating app for women, allowing users to anonymously share details about men they have met. A new app called TeaOnHer has emerged that attempts to flip the script, with men sharing information about women they date. And while Tea drew scrutiny last month after a data breach revealed user information, including potentially identifying details such as phone numbers and personal anecdotes, the copycat app seems to be suffering from the same problem. TechCrunch discovered several security issues at TeaOnHer, which is currently second most popular lifestyle app on iOS. (Tea is the current leader despite the issues). The publication reported that it identified a security flaw that allowed anyone to access TeaOnHer user data, including usernames, email addresses, uploaded driver's licenses and selfies. It also found a possible second issue where the email address and plaintext password for Xavier Lampkin, founder and CEO of the app's developer, was left exposed. These credentials appear to offer access to TeaOnHer's admin panel, which is another security risk. The full report at TechCrunch also raises concerns about the content shared on the app, which included spam posts with nude photos of women. It's unclear how many of the roughly 53,000 users for TeaOnHer might be bots, or whether the app was ever meant to be used seriously; chunks of its description in the iOS store use near-identical language to Tea's listing.
