Phoebe Gates knew Phia was cookie stuffing months before denial

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Internal Slack messages show Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni were aware of the practice as far back as December, contradicting the company's public statements

Bloomberg / Getty Images

Phia co-founders Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni were aware their shopping app was automatically claiming credit for sales it did not drive as far back as December, according to Bloomberg, which reviewed internal Slack $WORK messages and spoke with unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

That timeline contradicts what the company said publicly in July. When Bloomberg first reported that Phia's browser extension was dropping affiliate tracking cookies without user interaction — a practice known as cookie stuffing — a company spokesperson told the outlet Phia had only learned of the problem "within the last 24 hours." The new reporting shows the founders had known for at least seven months.