Warning: Chinese Shopping App Temu ‘Harvests Your Data’
A new ultra-cheap Chinese shopping app that has taken Britain by storm is suspected of illegally harvesting data from phone users, according to a report.
Temu, pronounced “tee-moo,” offers shoppers discounted products directly from Chinese factories. It was launched in the UK in April and quickly gained popularity, becoming the most downloaded app on Google’s Play Store after achieving similar success in the US.
With its distinctive bright orange logo, Temu currently boasts over nine million users in the UK who are attracted to its remarkably low prices and free delivery.
Some of Temu’s best-selling products include touchscreen watches for £15.49 and water bottles for £2.48.
However, analysts and Chinese company observers are raising concerns.
Concern: Distinguished by its bright orange logo, Temu is thought to have more than nine million users in the UK
Financial analyst Siegfried Eggert, the CEO of US firm Grizzly Research, recently published a report claiming that Temu is one of the ‘most dangerous’ popular apps due to alleged ‘aggressive’ data harvesting programs present within the app.
Eggert also accused Temu’s owner, Chinese e-commerce giant PDD, of intentionally concealing the software within the app.
‘We believe Temu is the most dangerous app in wide circulation,’ stated the report.
These allegations pose a threat to Temu’s rapid expansion, as the app has been aggressively marketing itself to younger shoppers on various social media platforms.
It is not the first Chinese-owned retail app to attract overseas shoppers. Previous examples include clothing group Shein, as well as online sellers Alibaba and Wish.
Nevertheless, Temu’s expansion has raised concerns among politicians regarding the potential access that Chinese apps may have to personal data belonging to UK consumers. Such data could potentially end up in the hands of fraudsters or intelligence agencies in Beijing or other locations.
Lord Alton of Liverpool, a crossbench peer who has been banned from China, emphasized the urgent need for investigation into the behavior of apps like Temu. He stated, ‘The government and regulators must establish the risks posed to UK consumers by their data being harvested and shared with the Chinese Communist Party regime under its National Intelligence Law.’
Until recently, PDD was based in Shanghai. Its founder and CEO, Colin Huang, is one of China’s wealthiest individuals, with an estimated net worth of around £27.5 billion.
Temu was contacted for comment but did not respond.
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