In a digital world where dating is often a minefield, The Tea app emerged as a bold solution, allowing women to review men they've dated, flag red flags, and create a safer dating ecosystem. However, what began as a feminist tech innovation quickly became a viral sensation, topping charts in the U.S.
The Tea Dating App soon became the most downloaded app on the Apple Store in the US.
But in July 2025, the very foundation of its promise—privacy—was shaken. A group of incels reportedly hacked the app, leaking over 72,000 images and 1.1 million private messages, sparking outrage and fear.
While The Tea App is also available in India, its reach here is limited due to access restrictions on global databases. That didn’t stop Indian users from finding their own workaround.
A Google sheet: India’s own version of the app
In Goa, an individual known as Sasha (name changed) launched a grassroots alternative—a Google Doc where cis and trans women, as well as non-binary people, began sharing experiences, advice, and cautionary tales about men in their social or dating circles.
What started as a whisper network is now a growing community-driven platform for accountability. While critics raise questions about defamation and digital ethics, for many, it’s a crucial lifeline in a world where trust and safety aren’t always guaranteed.
In an exclusive chat with Hook, Sasha revealed how she built a similar community that allegedly faced similar doxxing experiences by men towards other women after a leak.
Speaking about how the sheet came into existence, Sasha told us, “It originally started as a very general group for women, non-binary folk and trans women to come and ask for support, ask for help and guidance on how to live life in Goa."
How to ensure women’s safety in such communities?
As per TechCrunch, TeaOnHer contains security flaws of its own that allow anyone to access data belonging to the app's users - thus further putting the women reviewed at risk. So, how does one ensure the safety of women when it comes to public platforms and doc sheets that are easy to access and share?
Speaking to us Sasha (alias) revealed how they ensure women’s safety, "We do not share this link with everybody, so it was not a strict vetting process. We shared it in the women's group and said whoever wishes to join and share their experiences can join. Then we sort of made it an approval system, where we did vet the members out through DM conversations between me and one other admin."
One would think a safe digital-first space for women is a utopian fantasy and after so many women have faced doxxing due to their information being leaked, the community would disband. However, it's far from over - Sasha and other such community leaders are taking measures into their own hands!
"As of now, we still have the group running, it is very young, maybe 3-4 months old, and we are trying to still keep it going. But, I would say the conversation in it has slowed down as we try to figure out the best safe way to share this information,” she further added.
Given how precarious dating can be for women, this probably isn't the first or last time they've been harassed for trying to create a safe space for themselves. Much like Sasha's story from Goa, Hook has found that such communities and similar breaches have allegedly happened across Bengaluru and Mumbai – keep a lookout at this space as we delve deeper into the story.
