Temu, a fast-growing shopping app that offers products directly from overseas factories, has found itself at the center of significant privacy-related controversies, leading to multiple class action lawsuits in the United States and Canada. These lawsuits allege that the app has been intrusive with user data, sparking fears of overreach and violations of privacy rights. As a result, the app, which has rapidly gained popularity, especially in North America, is now facing increased scrutiny from both legal experts and privacy advocates.
Launched in 2022, Temu is a subsidiary of Shanghai-based PDD Holdings, which is a major player in the Chinese e-commerce landscape. The app offers a wide range of affordable goods, including clothing, electronics, furniture, and more, primarily from manufacturers in China. Temu’s direct-from-factory business model, which allows consumers to purchase items at lower prices, has made it highly attractive to price-conscious shoppers, particularly in Canada, where the app has been at the top of both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store as of May 2023.
Despite its commercial success, Temu has been the subject of multiple legal challenges. Two class action lawsuits were filed in 2023 in New York and Illinois, alleging that the app’s data collection practices were excessive and intrusive. In addition, a third class action suit was filed in Quebec in March 2024. These lawsuits claim that Temu collected far more personal data than necessary to perform its services, breaching user privacy and violating privacy laws in Canada and the United States.
The allegations come at a time when data privacy concerns surrounding Chinese-owned apps are already under intense scrutiny, particularly in the wake of controversies surrounding TikTok. Lawmakers in both Canada and the U.S. are grappling with the implications of Chinese technology companies’ access to personal data, especially given the potential for these companies to be influenced by the Chinese government. Temu’s connection to PDD Holdings, a Chinese multinational, has only fueled concerns about its data practices.
According to the class action lawsuits, Temu’s app requests permissions that extend far beyond what is necessary for a shopping app. Among the allegations are claims that the app can access users’ phone cameras, photos, messages, contacts, and other apps. These privacy violations are particularly troubling given that some of the accessed data is unrelated to the core function of the app, which is shopping.
Temu has firmly denied the accusations, stating that it collects “the minimum information necessary” to deliver its services. A spokesperson for the app told Global News that the app does not request full access to users’ photos or contacts. Instead, the spokesperson clarified that Temu may access a device’s “built-in image picker” for selecting photos when leaving reviews or using the app’s image search feature. The app also claims that it does not ask for location data in most countries, including Canada, with the notable exception of the Middle East, where the data is used for shipping address purposes.
