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AI Shopping Tool Sparks Privacy Concerns, Violates GDPR

11/16/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Phia, the AI shopping browser extension co-founded by Phoebe Gates, logged full HTML pages and URLs from user sessions, including data from non-e-commerce sites, without consent.
Privacy researchers warned this may violate GDPR and other regulations.
Phia later removed the feature, but researchers say the practice contradicts its privacy policy.
Experts say the case highlights security risks in rapid AI tool development and the need for data-collection oversight.

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Story summary

Phia, the AI shopping browser extension co-founded by Phoebe Gates, logged full HTML pages and URLs from user sessions, including data from non-e-commerce sites, without consent.
Privacy researchers warned this may violate GDPR and other regulations.
Phia later removed the feature, but researchers say the practice contradicts its privacy policy.
Experts say the case highlights security risks in rapid AI tool development and the need for data-collection oversight.