Red Flags and Rumors: Inside the Chaos of the Tea App Craze

Teenagers and young adults know all too well that the sharing of information socially is second nature. And for better or worse, the dark side of informational social influence still haunts us from 2000s teen movies to today: gossip.

Gossip takes form in many different shapes and sizes, and in recent years has manifested digitally, circulating on our phones in a new way as technology evolves. From TikTok ship accounts in middle school to the newly popular Tea App, gossip is constantly gaining traction in online circles. But what is the Tea App craze that has infected high schools? And why is it so popular?

The Tea App is a women-only platform where users can anonymously flag local men for “red flags” (negative behaviors/personality traits) or “green flags” (positive behaviors or traits). Users also have the ability to comment and verbally review the individual on a man’s “post” - where their first name and picture have been displayed anonymously by a Tea App user for the app’s local feed. Other app features include being able to search for an individual by name and a neighborhood map of registered sex offenders in a user’s area.

Tea was designed to be a positive informational tool for women to use to stay safe while navigating dating in their local communities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2 in 5 women in the United States experience dating violence in their lifetime, with the highest age group being 18-34 year olds. Furthermore, those who have experienced abusive behaviors and inappropriate contact with dates are more cautious when dipping their toe back into dating men. The app’s design was not malicious but rather informational to empower women to feel confident in their choices about their safety with reassurance and warnings.

On paper, the idea is what every woman needs, especially today. But implementing and carrying out this idea is much easier said than done, and the motives behind the creators of this app may not be pure. Corporate profit meets the noble idea as Tea features two levels in the app: normal and premium. Tea's premium plan for $14.99 a month unlocks key features like background checks, criminal records searches, reverse image searches, phone number lookups, and unlimited name searches. This is all the factual information on these men. Background checks and criminal records don't lie; people do. These tools could make the app genuinely helpful, yet they are hidden behind a paywall. If Tea’s true goal was safety, why make women pay for it?

Tea's design encourages constant engagement. If you don't have premium, the scrolling and posting features are your only options, with searches limited to five people per month. In today's society, scrolling has become a second nature and plays a big role in how apps like the Tea app spread and how they can become easily misused. On Tea, the scroll feature becomes a tool for judgment rather than connection or helpful input. It feeds the gossip-crazed minds of teenagers scrolling until they find someone they know, trapping users in a vapid cycle.

Though the Tea App was launched in 2023, it did not gain traction until July 2025, when it reached over 4 million users and became the number one app in the app store. To access the app, users have to submit a selfie (and previously, a photo of their driver's license) for verification that they are female. In July 2025, the app suffered a major data breach. According to a BBC article, over 72,000 verification images of women's selfies and ID photos were leaked, along with 1.1 million direct messages between users posted all over the internet. Two maps were also published on social media with over 33,000 pins of users' addresses spread across the US, leaving women all over the country vulnerable and unsafe. The aftermath of the leak further proved why these apps are needed to begin with.

After the incident, the app faced serious backlash over privacy and safety concerns. Within weeks, it was removed from the App Store and Google Play while they investigated the data breach. But the ramifications of this incident were vast. Websites were created where people could vote on the leaked selfies, with top 50 and bottom 50 leaderboards and a point system. One website even had links to a romantic companion AI website where you can upload photos of these women, creating a hyper-realistic AI version of them that can text, flirt, and engage in adult behaviors like a real human would.

Data leaks aside, some argue that the app’s social impacts have spiraled out of control. Like any other platform, it is being misused and creating more issues than it may be worth, especially among teenagers with petty agendas and developing brains. Tea among high schoolers has become a hub for drama and defamation, a snowball effect of rumors and allegations that leaves users with a paranoid and skewed perspective of their male peers. Senior Sebastian Rodriguez adds, “You can't deny that some of it is probably accurate in their testimonies, but even then, the untrustworthiness of other posts makes it so you no longer know what is true or not, even in the cases it is.”

Though some girls see the app as an empowering way to share their experiences, screen dates to protect themselves, and avoid potentially dangerous men, the tension that Tea creates is not without acknowledgment. Adeline Newton, a junior at East, offered us her opinions. “I think the Tea App being anonymous creates a space that encourages judgment and gossip,” she notes on the user base’s inherent anonymity on posts and comments. “It creates a space for people to be openly judgmental without having to take accountability for their words… I do see how people find it helpful. I have seen some people warning others about sexual assault encounters they or someone else might’ve had concerning the person who was posted. But mostly, the app is unserious and shouldn’t be a reliable source or a platform others go to for information.”

Many find it unfair and honestly scary. The anonymous nature of user interactions enables potentially false accusations and rumors, as there is no way to reliably fact-check the information and claims being made. Creating a huge forum of insulting individuals behind their backs to a potentially infinite audience, turning into a sinister form of online bullying that can severely impact men's mental health. As Kyle Nyugen, a senior at East, astutely points out, “When you're anonymous, you feel more compelled to do things you wouldn't normally do.” While it's important to believe and support women's experiences, the lack of verification on Tea creates a very dangerous gray area between awareness and misinformation. These are serious allegations that should not be taken lightly, and false accusations can deeply affect students. Kyle adds, “I think it's harmful. I think if you really wanna know about a guy, just ask someone who knows him… Things I learn on the Tea app are things I basically already know about anyway.”

Overall, the Tea App has momentarily captured the attention of many students here at East, with numerous boys being posted and even more girls commenting and participating in the gossip pot. Is it possible that knowing bad guys is helpful for interested girls? Yes, absolutely. Is it also possible that the app spiraled out of control and invalidated those with genuine experiences of domestic abuse? Also yes.

For better or for worse, as of October 2025, Apple has officially removed the controversial app from the App Store. Apple cites that it failed to meet its terms of service in areas around user privacy, content moderation, and data breaches. Yet new apps mimicking the platform are already popping up all over the internet. Safety tools or vigilante justice? We may never know, xoxo Gossip Girl.

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