Overview
- Independent tests by Bloomberg, researcher Ben Edelman, and Capital One Shopping found Phia’s browser extension opened background tabs and injected its own referral codes during checkout on more than 50 retailer sites.
- 'Cookie stuffing' is the practice of overwriting another publisher’s referral code so a different party collects the commission, and the reports say Phia’s code replaced existing affiliate links without user clicks.
- Impact.com suspended Phia’s account and launched an inquiry after spotting behavior it said violated platform rules, cutting off a key channel for Phia to earn affiliate revenue.
- Phia acknowledged the problem, said a December code change caused misattributions, pushed a fix after being notified, and Bloomberg later verified the automatic referral injections stopped.
- The episode compounds earlier privacy concerns about Phia’s extension and raises real reputational and commercial risk for the well‑funded startup, with publishers, retailers and lawyers likely to press for audits, refunds or other remedies.