Apple dumps relationship apps Tea and TeaOnHer from the App Retailer over privateness and moderation points

Apple has eliminated relationship apps Tea and TeaOnHer from the App Retailer for violating guidelines associated to content material moderation and person privateness. The corporate advised TechCrunch that it pulled the apps as they broke a number of of its rules, together with one mandating that apps cannot share or in any other case use a person’s private information with out getting their permission first.

Apple stated additionally they violated a rule regarding user-generated content material, which stipulates that apps want to permit for reporting offensive or regarding materials, an choice to dam abusive customers and the power to filter “objectionable materials from being posted.” As well as, Apple claimed the apps broke guidelines associated to person critiques. It advised TechCrunch that they had an “extreme” quantity of damaging critiques and complaints from customers, together with ones associated to minors’ private particulars being shared. The corporate famous that it raised these points’ with the apps’ builders, however they weren’t resolved.

Because it stands, each apps are nonetheless accessible on Android by means of the Google Play Retailer. Tea (which is formally known as Tea Relationship Recommendation) allows girls to publish particulars about males they’ve met or dated. It permits them to publish and touch upon pictures, lookup public information on people, perform reverse picture searches, share their experiences and price or overview males. Customers can, as an example, say whether or not they’d give a person a “inexperienced flag” or a “pink flag.”

TeaOnHer flips that format on its head, with males sharing information about girls. Each are pitched as relationship security apps, with Tea telling customers they will “ask our nameless group of girls to ensure your date is secure, not a catfish and never in a relationship.”

Tea first emerged in 2023 and it went viral this yr. In July, hackers breached the app and leaked tens of hundreds of photographs, together with round 3,000 selfies and picture IDs that customers submitted to confirm their accounts. The opposite photographs included posts, feedback and personal messages. A second hack uncovered greater than one million non-public messages.

Days after TeaOnHer went dwell in August (ripping off textual content from Tea’s App Retailer description within the course of), it emerged that app had its own security issues. It was potential to view picture IDs and selfies that customers had submitted for account verification, in addition to their electronic mail addresses.