Phia, a shopping startup co-founded by Phoebe Gates (daughter of Bill Gates) and Sophia Kianni, is facing accusations of "cookie stuffing." This practice involves the company's browser extension allegedly taking credit and commissions for sales it did not directly influence. Investigations by Bloomberg, an independent consultant, and a competitor, Capital One Shopping, found that Phia's extension would open a new tab in the background during online checkout, inserting its own referral codes and overriding those of other affiliates, even if the user arrived at the retailer independently or through another program like Wirecutter.
According to the Bloomberg investigation and other sources, Phia's browser extension automatically inserted its own affiliate tracking code during the checkout process, even when users had not interacted with the extension. This allowed Phia to claim commissions on purchases made at major retailers such as Walmart, Nike, and Zara. The issue was flagged by Capital One Shopping, a competitor, which warned retailers that they were losing revenue to "fake clicks" generated by Phia.
Following these allegations, Phia was suspended from Impact.com, a leading affiliate and influencer platform, for behavior inconsistent with its policies. Impact.com is now reviewing affected transactions to determine any necessary corrective actions. Phia, founded in 2025, has raised over $40 million from prominent investors including Khloé Kardashian, Hailey Bieber, and Sheryl Sandberg. The company acknowledged a coding issue, stating it resulted from a recent software release, and claimed to have resolved it, promising to make necessary changes after the issue was flagged to them. Initial re-tests by Bloomberg indicated the automatic referral replacement had stopped.
