Phia, the purchasing startup co-founded by Invoice Gates’ daughter, Phoebe Gates, and Sophia Kianni, has been accused of a apply often known as “cookie stuffing,” which can have helped the product obtain commissions and credit score for gross sales it didn’t truly generate, according to a Bloomberg investigation.
The report has sparked controversy and led to Phia’s suspension from Impact.com, a number one affiliate and influencer platform. Different startups have been sued over “cookie stuffing,” notably Honey, which is owned by PayPal and stays the topic of an ongoing class motion lawsuit.
Based in 2025, Phia has raised greater than $40 million in funding and has a star-studded listing of traders, together with Kim Kardashian and Hailey Bieber. The startup developed an app as a browser extension that works considerably like Google Flights, however for purchasing. Phia helps prospects discover the lowest-priced objects throughout numerous retailers in addition to low cost codes to make use of when purchasing. The corporate takes a fee on purchases made by way of the platform by way of an business apply often known as affiliate internet marketing.
The Bloomberg investigation, in addition to findings from an impartial marketing consultant and a competitor, discovered that if a consumer shopped at an internet retailer — even when they arrived on the web site on their very own or by way of one other associates program like Wirecutter — Phia would open a brand new tab within the background. In the course of the checkout course of, Phia would override the referral codes from different associates and as a substitute inject its personal, permitting it to take credit score for and probably obtain a fee on a purchase order it didn’t earn.
As soon as the problem was flagged to Phia, a spokesperson informed Bloomberg that every one essential modifications had been made to repair the problem. A test by Bloomberg discovered the problem had been resolved. It’s unclear if the repair is sufficient to fulfill the retailers and affiliate companions that work with Phia.
TechCrunch reached out to Phia for remark and has not obtained a response.