Controversial dating safety apps Tea and TeaOnHer have been removed from the Apple App Store. The removal of the apps was first discovered by app store intelligence provider Appfigures, which told TechCrunch that the two apps were removed from the App Store in all markets on Tuesday but remain on Google Play.
When contacted for comment, Apple confirmed the apps had been removed, saying it removed Tea Dating Advice and TeaOnHer from the App Store because they failed to meet Apple's requirements for content moderation and user privacy. The company also said it saw a large number of user complaints and negative reviews, including complaints about the posting of personal information of minors on these apps.
A representative said Apple communicated the issues to app developers, but the complaints were not resolved. (Requests for comment from the app developers have not yet been responded to.)
Specifically, Apple cited violations of its App Review Guidelines 1.2, 5.1.2, and 5.6. Rule 1.2 states that applications containing user-generated content should provide reporting and blocking capabilities and should remove objectionable content. Rule 5.1.2 states that apps cannot use or share someone's personal information without permission; Rule 5.6 states that excessive customer reports and negative reviews violate Apple's Developer Code of Conduct.
Tea and TeaOnHer have generated a lot of headlines and attention since going viral earlier this year. Tea, which has been quietly around since 2023 and resurfaced in 2025, is promoted as a dating safety tool for women, sort of akin to the “Are we dating the same guy?” Facebook group. The app encourages women to reveal details about men, especially on dating apps. This includes their personal information, Yelp-style reviews, and whether they call it a “green flag” or “red flag.”
However, many men did not appreciate the app's invasion of their privacy and questioned whether sharing information in this way could be considered defamatory.
After going viral and sparking controversy, Tea suffered a data breach this summer, with hackers gaining access to 72,000 images, including 3,000 selfies and photo IDs submitted for account verification, as well as 59,000 images from posts, comments and direct messages.
A rival app called TeaOnHer later launched to let men flirt with women in the same way, but it was plagued by security issues that exposed users' personal information, including government IDs and selfies, TechCrunch found in August.
Appfigures says the Tea app has had 6.1 million total lifetime downloads and has generated $5 million in total revenue to date. TeaOnHer has been downloaded 2.2 million times and does not offer in-app purchases. It noted that the apps are still running on Google Play.
However, as it was removed from the App Store, imitators became increasingly popular. For example, an app called TeaOnHer and Him – Overheard had a total of 354,000 downloads, jumping from No. 90 to No. 27 on the overall top apps ranking.