Phia Co-Founders Used Cookie Stuffing to Inflate Revenue

The e-commerce startup Phia, co-founded by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, used a practice known as cookie stuffing to falsely claim credit for online sales and inflate commission earnings. The company's browser extension automatically injected tracking cookies into the checkout processes of major retailers, including Nike, Gap, and Nordstrom, regardless of whether users interacted with the service.

Internal communications indicate that Gates and Kianni were aware of these features since December, contradicting public claims that the practice was a software bug discovered in July. Following a Bloomberg report, Phia removed the features on July 7 and suspended monetization. This action caused daily revenue to plummet from approximately $80,000 to between $10,000 and $28,000.

In response to the revelations, the affiliate network Impact.com suspended Phia from its marketplace and began reallocating unpaid commissions. Phia has since started issuing transaction reversals to its brand partners and is in the process of hiring a head of compliance.