By: Audrey Ring
What started as a safety tool for women has turned into one of the most polarizing apps online, creating a place where users can rate and comment on men in their area.
The “Tea app” has sparked polarizing opinions. While some students believe that it is helping girls avoid potentially dangerous situations, other people believe that it is hurtful and misleading.
Once the app is downloaded, users must verify they are female by submitting a selfie. After passing the waitlist, users gain access to a homepage displaying thousands of male photos from the selected area. They can click on anyone, rank them a red or green flag and comment their opinions on the male.
Additional features include a community feed where women discuss various topics, as well as tools to search phone numbers, check a sex offender map, reverse image search and background/criminal record search.
Although the app originally launched in 2023, it has seen a surge in active users this summer following viral TikTok posts. Many people have questioned how ethical the app is. Women are able to share real photos as well as connect the photo to the male’s first name and age.
“People say it helps girls avoid toxic guys, but it can really mess with people’s lives. Just because two people didn’t work out doesn’t mean you should be able to call them out publicly. A bad profile on the Tea app could cause girls to completely avoid someone,” said sophomore Connor Niehaus.
On the other hand, some people find the app very helpful. Women are able to make sure the guys they are dating or talking to are who they say they are. Users are also able to make sure that they live in a safe environment by accessing the sex offender map feature.
“It’s funny seeing everyone in College Park on the Tea app. It’s honestly a good way for girls to get a better sense of people and see what others are saying in a positive and honest way,” said junior Margot Ramsey.
However, to access all of the available tools users must pay $14.99 per month and 10% of the profits get donated to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
“I really like that 10% of all profits go to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, however, I would only pay for that if it was a more substantial app. The Tea app is more so just a social app that I wouldn’t be willing to pay $15 a month for,” said sophomore Marlowe Hutter.
While the app is still available today, people speculate that it may be taken off the app store due to numerous lawsuits that have been filed. According to the Washington Post, the lawsuits mainly concern a data breach as well as one woman who was fleeing domestic violence.
The app issued an official statement July 25. writing that it “identified unauthorized access to our systems and immediately launched a full investigation.” External cybersecurity experts and the FBI conducted the investigation, according to the statement.