Is Temu Safe?

Since Temu is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB), it is not as secure as other online marketplaces. According to BBB, in order to be accredited, a business must establish trust, advertise ethically, be honest, remain transparent, fulfill promises, act quickly and in good faith, guard customer privacy and operate with integrity. Because Temu lacks these accreditation standards, consumers should be mindful when shopping on Temu.

Read on to learn more about Temu and how you can shop safely on Temu.

What is Temu?

Temu is an e-commerce company that was founded in 2022 in Boston by a Chinese commerce group called PDD Holdings. Temu sells affordable products from millions of brands and partners. Affordable may be an understatement, as many of their products are priced at $1, $10 and maybe $50 at most. Considering the majority of what Temu sells are knock-offs of named-brand products, the quality of Temu products often matches the prices. Temu offers consumers a myriad of products, ranging from clothing to cosmetics, home decor, electronics, pet supplies, jewelry and more, shipped from large Chinese vendors. Since Temu sells such a wide variety of merchandise at suspiciously low prices, this has made its legitimacy and reputation worthy of skepticism among consumers.

Is Temu a legitimate company?

Yes, Temu is a legitimate company, however, that does not necessarily mean it is always safe for customers and their personal information. There have been many concerns with how Temu collects and houses customer data, specifically that it stores more customer information than it needs to operate. The main controversy about Temu’s safety surrounds its parent company’s app, Pinduoduo, which was accused of containing malware in 2023. However, since Pinduoduo is a China-based app and Temu is an America-based app, using Temu is less of a threat to your privacy. 

Is Temu safe to buy from?

Yes, despite Temu not being accredited and its very inexpensive products, it is still somewhat safe to buy from if you take appropriate precautions. A vast majority of the time, you will receive your packages from Temu, albeit maybe 10 days or multiple weeks after your order has been marked as shipped. Sometimes, when an item arrives, it may not match its description on Temu, so it’s important to read through a product’s reviews before you purchase it. In the rare instance that you don’t receive your packages, you can get a refund.

7 tips to help you shop safely on Temu

You can shop safely on online marketplaces like Temu by shopping on official websites, using strong passwords and being aware of potential phishing scams. 

1. Shop on the Temu website instead of the app

It is much safer to shop on the Temu website rather than the app because the majority of the privacy concerns are related to Temu’s app. Even though the app is available in the App Store, shopping on Temu’s website instead of Temu’s app is overall safer. If you shop on Temu’s website, you should use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to encrypt your data and secure your privacy.

2. Use a unique password for your Temu account

Do not reuse your passwords for any of your online accounts, especially your Temu account. Reusing versions of the same password or using weak passwords makes it easier for cybercriminals to guess your password and gain access to your private information. Use a strong password that’s unique to your Temu account when you sign up. It is a best practice to create a unique password for every one of your accounts, so if your information was ever leaked, a cybercriminal would not be able to use the same password to hack multiple of your accounts. Not sure how to create a strong password? Use a free online password or passphrase generator.

3. Hide your email address or create an alias

When you create a Temu account, iPhone users can choose to hide their email address by selecting the Hide My Email option which will let you create an account using your Apple ID. This can help keep you protected when you buy from Temu because your iPhone will create a randomly generated email address that forwards automatically to your actual email account.

If you do not use an iPhone, you can stay safe by creating a separate email address just for Temu, or you can set up an alias. Email aliases are additional email addresses that forward emails to your main email account to protect your inbox and filter out spam. By creating an email alias just for Temu, your main email address will not be exposed in the event of a data breach. Most email providers allow you to create an alias in their settings.

4. Don’t link your accounts to Temu

Make sure not to link your social media profiles or bank accounts to Temu. Doing this will keep you safe if Temu has a data breach because cybercriminals would not be able to access your private information. 

5. Carefully read reviews

Since some Temu products may not be what they claim to be in the product description, it is important for you to carefully read reviews of products you are interested in. Some companies pay people or give people free products if they give overly positive reviews to help with their ratings. Here are some red flags when it comes to reading reviews that you should watch out for on Temu:

• All five-star reviews
• A cluster of reviews in a short time span
• Whether a reviewer has written other reviews
• If technical jargon is used instead of a reviewer’s feelings or experience

6. Pay with a credit card instead of a debit card

On Temu, you should always purchase products using a credit card instead of a debit card. Credit cards offer more fraud protection than debit cards since a credit card company is responsible for repaying fraudulent charges instead of you. If you use a debit card and become a victim of fraud, the money that is stolen comes from your bank account and you are less likely to recover it. Make sure not to save your credit card information on Temu because if Temu gets breached and you have your information saved on it, a cybercriminal could take your financial information. 

7. Be cautious not to overpay for non-branded items

Because Temu offers such a wide variety of products, you should be careful not to overpay for non-branded items. When you shop on Temu and click on a product, you can see if an item is branded if it has a blue checkmark. Items that do not have a blue checkmark are sold by third-party vendors and are knockoffs of branded products. 

Stay safe when buying from Temu

Shop safely when using Temu by following the recommendations above to protect your private data from being stolen or shared. Even on websites that are accredited by the BBB, you should always be cautious when making online purchases to keep your private information safe.