With the popularity of fast-fashion apps rising, along with news of data breaches from apps like SHEIN or Temu, skepticism grows as increasing allegations of data theft and scamming point fingers at these foreign shopping apps.

According to the Better Business Bureau, consumers had logged 1,810 complaints in the last 3 years, and 1,681 complaints in the last 12 months, with most regarding failure to receive packages and orders, garnering a 2.5 star rating for Temu.

Accusations against these websites have surrounded data theft, poor quality, and unethical practices, leaving many skeptics with several questions and raised suspicions. However, some may argue despite all this, that the product quality still stands.

“Literally nothing has gone wrong, and everything I’ve ordered is like, good,” sophomore Crystal Swartout said. “This top [I’m wearing] is from SHEIN.”

Although quality may meet consumer expectations, online shoppers could be trading their safety and information for cheap and fashionable products.According to the USCC, “… New York State fined Shein’s owner, Zoetop—a Hong Kong-based LLC that owns Shein and sister company ROMWE—$1.9 million in 2022 for mishandling credit card and other personal information following an investigation of a 2018 cyberattack that exposed the user data of 39 million accounts, including 800,000 users in New York.”

The uncertainty that one’s data safety is guaranteed when installing these apps may concern some, but some shoppers are left unfazed. Some argue they lack valuable information on their devices.

“No. I don’t care,” sophomore Casey Thormahlen said. “What are they going to do with my data?”

Does the public remain oblivious to these allegations towards these sketchy shopping sites? Common concerns regarding Temu and SHEIN question unethical labor practices that are put into use and the quality of the items delivered.

“I heard that [Temu] [steals] your credit card information,” sophomore Emma Sapp said. “And just uses your information for that, I guess.”

While more information is being collected concerning the questions these shopping apps raise, students who use Temu and SHEIN do not believe their data is at stake of being stolen.

According to WPTV, “The recent lawsuit points to the Pinduoduo online shopping app — which is also owned by PDD Holdings Inc. — as another example of this, claiming it was recently suspended from the Google Play Store over the presence of spyware.”

Until these fashion apps are ultimately proven safe, will you be shopping like a billionaire?