“Treating human beings as commodities” — Michael Knowles reacts to the Tea App being hacked, claims members are getting “exactly” what they deserve

Recently, the Tea App went viral and reached the number one spot in the App Store in the US. The app allegedly allows women to anonymously share information about men they are dating or have dated in the past. The women-exclusive app recently came under attack from hackers, and thousands of photo IDs and pictures of women were leaked online.

Podcaster Michael Knowles has now reacted to the news of the hack in his July 28 episode of The Michael Knowles Show. Knowles called the Tea App a "Yelp service for women" and stated that it raised concerns for men. The podcaster called the data breach "great news," adding that the app users "deserve" it.

"This is one of these great news stories because everyone involved is getting exactly what he and she deserves because they are treating dating like going shopping for a handbag. They are treating human beings as commodities to be rated and reviewed like a restaurant. And as a consequence, they themselves are being treated as commodities," Knowles said.

Michael Knowles argued that the Tea app, which allows women to verify if a "guy is a creep," and avoid potentially dangerous situations, highlights a double standard. He added that if there were a similar app for men where they could rate women, it would be called "totally reprehensible." Knowles also shared his views on dating methods.

"You should not be just randomly meeting strangers on the internet. That's probably a bad idea. A lot of people date that way now. But there are at least ways to put some limits on it. And you, you could geo uh circumscribe it," he added.

Knowles advised that people can opt for the "old-fashioned way" of dating, where they can ask their family members or co-workers to set a date for them. He added that people can meet through "organic settings" like school, church, or work. He concluded by saying one should avoid dating like a "marketplace."

"If you though just treat dating like an open marketplace, well then you're going to be treated like a good that is bought and sold in the marketplace," Knowles said.

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More about the data breach of the Tea App

The 2023 women-only app that claims to let women spot "red flags" came under a massive hacking attack days after it went viral. On Friday, the app company confirmed the news of hacking and revealed that more than 72,000 pictures of its users, along with their ID proofs, had been leaked. A spokesperson for the Tea App released a statement and assured that the necessary steps are being taken.

"Protecting Tea users' privacy and data is their highest priority. Tea is taking every necessary step to ensure the security of the platform and prevent further exposure," the spokesperson said.

However, on Monday, the Tea app announced that the data breach was much bigger and some users' direct messages had also been accessed by the hackers. On July 28, the app shared a post on Instagram informing users about the additional breach.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we have taken the affected system offline. At this time, we have found no evidence of access to other parts of our environment," the post read.

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The DM option in the Tea App has been temporarily suspended. The company reassured users that it would share more information about the data hack once further details are discovered. The app is also providing free identity protection services to users whose data was compromised in the attack.

Edited by Sriparna Barui