Phia, an AI shopping assistant co-founded by Bill Gates’ daughter Phoebe Gates, has reportedly come under scrutiny for its data collection practices.
Phia’s Data Collection Under Scanner
Phia’s browser extension has been found to collect extensive user data, raising privacy concerns.
According to a report by Fortune, Phia has been found collecting extensive user data through its browser extension. Cybersecurity experts revealed that the extension, designed to assist with price comparisons, was capturing more than just shopping data.
Maahir Sharma, an ex-Meta software engineer, told Fortune that he started testing the Phia browser extension on Amazon. However, he found that the extension was making network calls while he was using Gmail.
“I discovered that the URL of every tab I visited was being logged, which was a red flag. Technically, this meant my complete browsing history could be reconstructed from this data alone,” Sharma said.
Privacy Concerns
Researchers discovered that a previous version of Phia’s extension was transmitting snapshots of every webpage a user visited, including when browsing web pages containing sensitive information like bank statements and emails, back to the company’s servers.
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This data collection occurred even when users were not engaging with e-commerce sites, the report added.
Despite the company removing the feature after being alerted, they did not inform users of the potential privacy breach or clarify the fate of the collected data, as per the report.
Phia Says Data Logging Done Anonymously
Phia, which recently secured $8 million in funding, stated that all data logging was done anonymously and for identifying new retail sites.
However, cybersecurity professionals said that the practices could violate privacy laws, including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), due to the extensive data collection without explicit user consent, according to the report.
Despite being the daughter of one of the richest people in the world, the only thing that Phoebe was offered by her parents, Bill and Melinda Gates, was advice, not cash.
She also revealed that she “literally never” remembers Bill Gates talking about the start of Microsoft. “I mostly just remember him talking about the foundation. I remember even when we wanted to start the company, him being like, ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’” Phoebe said.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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