Phia, the shopping application co-founded by Phoebe Gates, the 23-year-old daughter of Bill Gates, has faced allegations of improperly claiming credit for online sales that it did not facilitate.
According to a report by Bloomberg, the AI-driven browser extension purportedly recorded what were termed 'fake clicks' on retail websites, subsequently asserting commission on sales that the company did not actually generate. This issue, which Phia has now rectified, was said to have been integrated into the source code of the shopping platform in December.
What is Phia app?
Phia is an application created to assist shoppers in maximizing their spending by comparing prices of apparel and accessories from more than 40,000 retail and resale websites.
The start-up operates on an affiliate revenue model, whereby Phia earns a commission for any sale made through their browser extension.
When users find a clothing item or product via Phia's app and complete the purchase through an affiliate link, Phia receives a percentage of the sale.
{{/usCountry}}When users find a clothing item or product via Phia's app and complete the purchase through an affiliate link, Phia receives a percentage of the sale.
{{/usCountry}}Within a week of its launch, Phia achieved a ranking of 21 on the App Store and accumulated 20,000 downloads. Three months later, the total downloads exceeded 370,000.
As of September 2025, Phia hit over 500,000 downloads and secured $8 million in funding. This was succeeded by an additional $35 million in funding last January, which placed the company's valuation at $185 million, merely one year post-launch.
Here's what probe on Phia app revealed
However, an investigation conducted by Bloomberg, Capital One Shopping, and independent researcher Ben Edelman revealed that Phia's app had opened a background tab and inserted its own referral code during the checkout process without any user consent.
Phia engaged in what is known as 'cookie stuffing' or attribution fraud by logging 'fake clicks' on retailers' websites, which permitted it to replace the unique code of another referrer with its own, thereby claiming commissions for sales it had not legitimately earned.
The activity is widely regarded as a breach of the policies of numerous digital platforms. Impact.com, a prominent affiliate network, informed Bloomberg that it had suspended Phia's account upon discovering actions in its extension that were “inconsistent with our platform policies.”
Phia spokesperson speaks out
A representative for Phia confirmed the problem and informed Bloomberg that it has been rectified.
“Within the last 24 hours, we were made aware that in a recent release our codebase was causing misattributions from a subset of users,” the statement indicsaidated, mentioning that the source code was integrated into Phia's platform in December.
They further informed that after receiving the notification, their team worked throughout the night to identify and address the issue, which has now been resolved.
The firm further stated that Phia undergoes regular audits by its affiliate network partners and has “always maintained compliance.” Researchers subsequently retested Phia's browser extension in July and confirmed that it no longer automatically claimed a referral click.
Gates is the youngest daughter of Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, and his former spouse, Melinda French Gates. In April 2025, she, along with her co-founder and former Stanford University roommate, Sophia Kianni, launched Phia.