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Ask HN: Why is "Tea" still on the App Store after so many data breaches?

8 hours ago/71 comments

Furthermore, it’s being promoted in the ā€œTop Chartsā€ while the ā€œApp Privacyā€ card says they only collect email addresses.

7 hours ago by tebbers

Because Apple carefully vets all apps and that's why it must be allowed to maintain its App Store monopoly!

6 hours ago by vdfs

To be fair the app itself wasn't compromised, heck even the server wasn't breached, it was just a database open for everyone!

3 hours ago by general1726

Everything works as it has been designed. I wonder which companies will start using this excuse after being hacked.

5 hours ago by nickthegreek

Thats true of the first hack, the photos. But I dont believe that is true for the 2nd, the messages.

3 hours ago by znpy

> it was just a database open for everyone!

All good then!

7 hours ago by neilv

Related: Tea app leak worsens with second database exposing user chats (bleepingcomputer.com) | 120 points by akyuu 1 day ago | 145 comments | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44716529

7 hours ago by jonplackett

> ā€œA legacy data storage system was compromisedā€

I am always amused by corporate jargon used to cover up ineptitude.

In this case legacy data storage system = publicly accessible bucket

7 hours ago by rich_sasha

It's like when B737 Max crashed and Boeing blamed a "software glitch". It's about dressing the failure up as something that could randomly happen to anyone.

7 hours ago by gadders

There was also a website posted on 4chan where you could rate member's photos against each other in terms of attractiveness.

8 hours ago by anonzzzies

I see many breaches and people still use the products. Even tech stuff: people knowingly using tech/dev products of people who are either sloppy, plain incompetent or both. I don't get it but here we are.

8 hours ago by TradingPlaces

In the 80s and 90s I was positive that customers would revolt over the constant security issues and generally poor quality of Microsoft software. I don’t need to tell you that it did not happen.

8 hours ago by anonzzzies

True. Well, we as a company left them (in the 90s). Thats 500 people. So nothing. Still happy we did.

6 hours ago by red-iron-pine

hard to revolt against a monopoly. the only alternative is expensive Apple gear, or (for most of the 90s-2000s) learning a deep set of skills to use the nascent linux desktop options.

7 hours ago by amarcheschi

We didn't revolt when tobacco companies screwed generations of people, and this is just an example of the many screwing happened in the past from big companies, I'm not positive on the fact people will revolt for privacy breaches such this one

7 hours ago by undefined
[deleted]
7 hours ago by flanked-evergl

The app provides doxxing as a service, not sure why Apple would start worrying about data breaches for such an App.

8 hours ago by testfrequency

Privacy is a fundamental human right.*

*Unless your app has an IAP and is wildly popular, then we don’t mind

7 hours ago by cyanydeez

Privacy is a fundamental capitalist product.

Theres something that changes in the brain when it learns that everything can be translated to cash value.

7 hours ago by Simulacra

It's possible, although I have zero proof, that some of the people responsible for removing apps from the App Store, agree with it. The moderation has always been bull crap and recourse is little if any.

5 hours ago by runjake

I don't know, but I don't want Apple exercising even more draconian control over what apps I have on my Apple devices.

If I want to use an app with a horrendous security track record, I should be able to. See also: the plethora of other popular apps with horrendous security track records.

So, be careful what you ask for.

6 hours ago by hazmazlaz

The same reason that Microsoft products are still in the App Store after so many breaches. Because having a security breach is not part of the App Store equation.

7 hours ago by anonymousiam

Couldn't one ask the same question about Facebook?

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