Temu: Is It A Scam Or Not?

Temu is an online shopping app that sells clothes, bags, cosmetics, and more, created in 2022 by EDD Holdings, a company based in China. Though over the years Temu has been seen as a controversial online app, recently some information has been shared about Temu leading to speculations if Temu is a scam or not.

At first, Temu was an online sensation, similar to how Shein rose to fame. With a similar downfall, just like other discounted shopping apps, many allegations popped up, plus multiple lawsuits. One of Temu’s allegations is related to data privacy being spied on. 

Data privacy concerns – 

On February 29th, NBC Today reported on one of Temu’s allegations saying that many accused Temu of not keeping the user’s information private. 

This is one of the reasons Temu is getting a lot of backlash. If I had this app, I wouldn’t be comfortable with my personal information either being shared or spied on. Having all of that accessible to be able to profit off or used to be spied on doesn’t sit right with me. It also doesn’t seem very unlikely as many apps similar to Temu have faced these kinds of allegations. 

So it has become familiar to me as many lawsuits have filled over these kinds of apps for a while. “When you add your personal information on apps it is not surprising that it will either be spied on or profit off of that’s normal for many apps,” said Central student Priest Allen. So be very careful about what you put into social media, shopping apps, or even delivery services. 

Temu’s working conditions and workers 

But a lot of different allegations about Temu also were shared in some light, as most people when you asked about Temu are likely to know about this allegation. The allegation is about the workers working for Temu, as their conditions are unstable, and their wages are even worse. The New York Times says that, “there is an extremely high risk that Temu’s supply chains are contaminated with forced labor.” 

Even then it’s the second most downloaded app on the app store, this was a shocker for me as this app is more disliked than liked, and even if people downloaded the app it’s only for little trinkets, phone accessories, and sometimes even clothes.  “I normally only buy trinkets and phone accessories and even if I buy clothes it doesn’t come ripped or used.” Central student Mariah Scantleberry answered in an interview.

Customer service & quality 

This brings us to the customer service part of Temu; Temu has many reviews saying that any of their shipping aspects like packages and delivery have been very good, as many reviews have commented on Time Magazine on how it always comes on time, and the packaging doesn’t look like it got clawed by a bear. But even though Temu is now very good at quality and customer service, a company tangled with Temu hadn’t.  

Conclusion – 

Now if we put that all together we can say that it kind of is because it can scam you out of your data, and it can also feel like what you will buy will not last long, but it is also how you use the app. My advice is don’t have very high expectations for the products you’ll get, because it won’t last very long.  “If you buy AirPods or headphones off of Temu it won’t last long,” said Priest Allen. But this also applies to trinkets, clothes, even furniture they won’t last long so you shouldn’t be spending a lot of money on items from Temu.