Phoebe Gates Under Scrutiny for Alleged Cookie Stuffing at Phia

Phoebe Gates, 23, the daughter of Bill Gates, is facing allegations related to “cookie stuffing” at her digital startup, Phia, which is valued in the billions.

Phia assists consumers in finding discount codes and securing the best prices during online shopping. When a shopper utilizes Phia’s browser extension for a purchase, it saves a cookie that tracks the retailer, signaling that Phia successfully drove the sale and earned a commission.

A July 2026 investigation by Bloomberg claimed that co-founders Gates and Sophia Kianni intentionally pushed for features within the software that falsely claimed credit for sales they hadn’t generated. Engaging in such deceptive practices may lead to a federal prison sentence of up to 20 years.

According to the report, Phia amassed $30 million in 2025, attracting significant backing from celebrities like Hailey Bieber and Kris Jenner, while crediting itself for sales from prominent brands such as Nike, Nordstrom, and Gap.

Following the revelations in July about the alleged cookie stuffing, Phia reportedly disabled the questionable features. This move led to a notable decline in daily revenue—plummeting from $80,000 to between $10,000 and $28,000.

Bloomberg also claimed to have Slack messages and insights from individuals close to the situation, indicating that Gates and Kianni were aware of the cookie-stuffing practice for several months, despite their assertion that they had only just learned of it recently.

The co-founders expressed their commitment to addressing the issue. A representative from Phia stated to The New York Post that they removed all features causing misattributions on July 7, are monitoring every transaction, and are in the process of issuing reversals to their brand partners for any misattributed sales. Additionally, they plan to appoint a head of compliance to prevent future occurrences.

Reports indicated that Gates had expressed concerns about the extent of the issue in a December Slack message, while Kianni had proposed dropping a cookie each time a Phia pop-up was closed.

A Phia spokesperson refuted Bloomberg’s allegations. Meanwhile, Ariel Givner, founder of Givner Law, sounded a warning on social media, explaining that cookie stuffing is generally treated as federal wire fraud and carries severe penalties, including potentially lengthy prison sentences and fines.