Have you ever shopped at Temu? Better think twice next time

Consumers have been using the shopping app Temu to get discounts and deals. It is rare to spend more than a few minutes on social media without seeing an ad about the app.

It makes sense. The app has some of the lowest prices in the market and offers users gifts for their purchases, making the deals almost impossible to resist.

It might be because they are impossible. According to users in class action lawsuits against the app, the fantastic deals hide ill intentions towards consumers.

The app faces two class action consumer lawsuits for its data collection and protection policies. Illinois, California, Massachusetts, Virginia, and New York users are involved.

According to CBS, one of the lawsuits claims Temu violates its users' privacy rights by collecting large amounts of data using "deceptive" methods.

The users' lawyers claim that the independent experts they consulted found the app had tools to execute malware and spyware activities on their devices.

"Temu requests at least 24 permissions for all kinds of information that an online shopping app would not need," Jeannie Evans, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, told CBS.

Those permissions include access to the phone's Bluetooth and Wifi information and, principally, biometric data like fingerprints and facial recognition software.

The lawyers also believe the company intentionally misled users to obtain the data through the app's permits. "The app is purposefully and intentionally" loaded with the tools, they said.

The other class action lawsuit claims that sensible user data is not protected enough. The plaintiffs say the app's security protocols are not strong enough.

The legal document collected by NBC says the company is responsible for data breaches because "to save money," the company "cut corners on security measures."

The complaint says many customers reported to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) that their financial information was stolen and sold after using the app.

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According to CBS, the BBB has received over 900 complaints about Temu in the first 14 months after its release. The bureau issued a warning about Temu in September 2023.