Phoebe Gates’ shopping app Phia accused of claiming commissions it didn’t earn

Phia, the shopping browser extension co-founded by Bill Gates’ daughter Phoebe Gates, is under fire for allegedly claiming affiliate commissions on sales it didn’t drive. The practice, known in the industry as ‘cookie stuffing,’ has already cost the startup a key affiliate partner.

What Phia is accused of

Phia, the shopping startup co-founded by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, has been accused of ‘cookie stuffing,’ which may have helped the product receive commissions and credit for sales it did not actually generate, according to a Bloomberg investigation. The report has led to Phia’s suspension from Impact.com, a leading affiliate and influencer platform.

The investigation, along with findings from an independent consultant and a competitor, found that if a user shopped at an online retailer — even if they arrived on their own or through another affiliate program — Phia would open a new tab in the background. During checkout, Phia would override the referral codes from other affiliates and inject its own, allowing it to take credit for and potentially receive a commission on a purchase it didn’t earn.

How the mechanic works

Bloomberg tested Phia’s mobile browser extension across more than 50 websites and found that during checkout, it opened background tabs without user interaction and injected its own referral code. This overrode legitimate referrals from other publishers, violating digital platforms’ policies.

Independent researcher Ben Edelman noted that commission is typically only paid when a user actively clicks a referral link. Capital One Shopping sent an email to retailers highlighting findings about Phia’s practice of fake clicks, known as ‘cookie stuffing.’

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Phia’s response and the funding backdrop

A Phia spokesperson acknowledged the issue, stating the codebase was causing misattributions from a subset of users and has since been fixed. Bloomberg retested the extension on July 7 and confirmed it had stopped automatically claiming referral clicks. Impact.com, an affiliate network partner, has stopped working with Phia and is conducting an investigation.

The company was launched in 2025 by 23-year-old Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, and has raised $43.5 million from investors including Notable Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Khosla Ventures and celebrities such as Sydney Sweeney, Khloé Kardashian and Hailey Bieber.

Why this matters for the broader affiliate ecosystem

Other startups have been sued over ‘cookie stuffing,’ notably Honey, which is owned by PayPal and remains the subject of an ongoing class action lawsuit. That precedent means retailers and affiliate networks are increasingly willing to pull the plug fast when attribution looks off.

For publishers that depend on affiliate revenue, any tool that hijacks the last-click attribution model is a direct hit to the top line. Expect more scrutiny across the browser-extension shopping category.

Options market and stocks to watch

No direct pure-play public ticker exists for Phia, but the story touches several names investors may want to track:

• PYPL: PayPal owns Honey, which is still fighting a class action tied to the same cookie stuffing allegations. Watch headline risk if regulators or plaintiffs use the Phia case as a fresh reference point.
• MSFT: Not directly involved, but the Gates family connection keeps the name in the headline cycle. Watch for tangential reputational chatter.
• ETSY and SHOP: Both platforms rely on affiliate and referral flows. Watch for any policy changes toward browser extension partners.
• GOOGL: The Chrome Web Store is where these extensions live. Watch for any tightening of extension policies that could reshape the affiliate landscape.

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