Apple has confirmed to TechCrunch that it has removed the controversial women’s safety app Tea and its rival app for men, TeaOnHer, from the App Store in all markets.
The removal was first discovered by app insights platform Appfigures, TechCrunch reported.
Tea was designed to help women stay safe when dating. It was an online whisper network, of sorts, for women to share negative experiences with men, akin to contentious “Are we dating the same guy?” Facebook groups.
Back in July, Tea became the target of a massive cyberattack, exposing images like drivers’ licenses. Subsequently, it was discovered that personal chats and phone numbers stored on Tea were also exposed. TechCrunch found that TeaOnHer also had security issues.
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Apple told TechCrunch that Tea (officially called Tea Dating Advice) and TeaOnHer didn’t meet the company’s content moderation and user privacy requirements, specifically App Review Guidelines Rules 1.2 (stating that apps with user-generated content should offer block and removal features) and 5.1.2 (the app can’t use or share someone’s personal information without permission). Apple also pointed TechCrunch to section 5.6, a section titled “Developer Code of Conduct.”
Section 5.6 reads:
Please treat everyone with respect, whether in your responses to App Store reviews, customer support requests, or when communicating with Apple, including your responses in App Store Connect. Do not engage in harassment of any kind, discriminatory practices, intimidation, bullying, and don’t encourage others to engage in any of the above. Repeated manipulative or misleading behavior or other fraudulent conduct will lead to your removal from the Apple Developer Program.
On top of all that, Apple cited excessive complaints and negative reviews.
Apple apparently communicated these issues with the dating app developers, but they haven’t been addressed.
Tea and TeaOnHer remain on the Android app store as of publication.
