Tea Dating Advice, an app that allows women to anonymously rate men, has risen to number one in the US Apple App Store. It was released back in 2023, but has skyrocketed in the rankings in the past few weeks.
Tea Dating Advice, an app that allows women to anonymously rate men, has risen to number one in the US Apple App Store. It was released back in 2023, but has skyrocketed in the rankings in the past few weeks.
As Business Insider reports, citing marketing company Sensor Tower, in the first 20 days of July, the number of Tea downloads increased by 185% compared to the same period in June.
The app was created by Sean Cook, who previously worked at Salesforce and Shutterfly. He launched Tea «after witnessing his mother’s horrific experience with online dating — not only was she a victim of fraud, but she was also unknowingly dating men who had criminal records».
Tea has a feed that displays photos of men posted by anonymous users under pseudonyms. Some posts ask women for «tea» — gossip — about someone they’re interested in, while others provide detailed reviews of men. The app doesn’t allow screenshots and instead displays a black screen.
When users want to post about a man, the app asks for his name, approximate age and location. Users can also add a caption and photos. To post, they need to check the box that says «All statements are true.»
Users can respond to gossip with green or red flags, add comments, and share text posts in a forum where some users ask for advice.
Some features of the app are only available through a subscription. For example, users can perform a maximum of five free searches per month, after which they are given the choice of paying for a Tea subscription for $15 per month or inviting friends to the app and unlocking features like unlimited searches.
Tea has so far received a warm reception from users, with an average rating of 4.7 from over 60,000 ratings in the App Store, where it ranked first in the app rankings, pushing ChatGPT to second place.
However, the app has sparked a number of heated reactions on social media.
Sabrina Henriquez, 28, said she learned about the app this week after seeing women discussing it in popular TikTok posts, The Washington Post reported.
«They were going to go on a date with a certain person, but when they went on the app and saw how dangerous this man was to their safety because of the abuse allegations, it saved them from getting into that situation,» she said.
Another Tea user said she immediately ran into several men she had met in the Washington, D.C. area, and that any negative feedback was well-deserved. But Tea doesn’t limit her feedback to safety issues.
Donovan James, 21, said he stumbled upon the app this week on TikTok after seeing some men complaining about negative reviews about their appearance or criticizing them for breaking up with a partner. Tea says it checks users' selfies when they sign up to «verify» their gender, but James said he’s seen men circumvent the verification system by using selfies of their girlfriends or family members. He said he was tempted to take a look because he wanted to know what women were saying about him.
«I think the app has good intentions, it’s just very confusing. You’re always going to look bad in someone’s eyes,» he said. Enriquez and other women on TikTok also acknowledged that the app can become a source of gossip.
Tea has so far declined to comment on its moderation strategy and «gender verification» process. Its terms of service state that it has a zero-tolerance policy on defamation, and some men online say they have already had posts removed.
