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Is Temu safe?

From Is it safe?, in the HARD wiki · Updated
This article is about the Temu shopping app. For other apps, see Is it safe?.

Safe to use with care: Temu is a real shop that refunds most problems, but regulators have fined it over unsafe listings and data handling, so buy carefully.

Temu is a real marketplace, not a scam. Its policy offers a free first return on each order for most items within 90 days, plus refunds for missing parcels. Payments go through its checkout, and it says it follows the card industry’s security standard.

The real risks are what you buy and what you share. The European Commission fined Temu €200 million in May 2026 after test purchases found unsafe chargers and baby toys. Regulators in the US and South Korea have also penalised it, and several US states have sued it over data collection.

Temu is owned by PDD Holdings, whose SEC filings give an address in Dublin, Ireland. Whaleco Inc. runs it in the US; in Australia it is Elementary Innovation Pte. Ltd. of Singapore. Its privacy policy says user data is kept with cloud providers and may be shared with companies overseas, including in the US.[1][2][3][4]

The real risks

What Temu itself says it collects, what regulators and courts have found, its security record and the scams that borrow its name. Each line links to the page it comes from.

What it collects

From Temu’s own privacy policy:

  • Your phone number or email address for logging in, plus your profile and any details from Facebook or Google if you sign in with them.[4]
  • Orders and payment details: card number or other payment information, billing and delivery addresses, recipient names and phone numbers, and sizing information you give.[4]
  • What you do in the app: items in your cart, pages you view and for how long, your searches (text and images), browsing history, and whether you open its emails.[4]
  • Device details such as model, operating system, internet provider, language and unique identifiers, including advertising identifiers where the law allows.[4]
  • Your approximate location from your internet (IP) address, and map coordinates of the delivery address you enter.[4]
  • Chats with customer service and with sellers, reviews and photos you post, and information from advertising partners, payment processors and fraud-checking services.[4]

App store label. Temu’s Apple App Store label lists no data used to track you across other companies’ apps. Data linked to you includes purchases, payment info, precise and coarse location, contact info, photos and videos, search history, user ID, usage data and diagnostics. Rated 13+.[2]

Regulators and courts

Fines, orders, investigations and lawsuits, newest first. A lawsuit is what the side bringing it alleges until a court decides.

WhenWhat happened
The European Commission accepted Temu’s plan to fix its breach of the Digital Services Act (an EU law that makes big platforms tackle illegal content). Temu has four months to carry it out, followed by an independent audit.[5]
The European Commission fined Temu €200 million for failing to properly assess the risk of illegal products. Its test purchases found many chargers failed basic safety tests and baby toys posed medium to high safety risks.[6]
Temu’s US operator Whaleco agreed to a US$2 million civil penalty in the first case under the INFORM Consumers Act. The FTC and DOJ alleged it lacked easy ways to report suspicious listings and hid seller details.[3]
The European Commission preliminarily found Temu in breach of the Digital Services Act, saying shoppers were very likely to come across non-compliant products such as baby toys and small electronics.[7]
Nebraska’s Attorney General sued Temu, alleging its app gathers broad access to users’ phones, fake reviews and prices, counterfeit local-brand goods and poor refunds. These are allegations; the court has not ruled.[8]
South Korea’s privacy regulator (PIPC) imposed KRW 1.369 billion in penalties on two Temu companies for undisclosed overseas data transfers, a seven-step account deletion process and unlawful collection of sellers’ ID data.[9]
EU consumer authorities (the CPC network) told Temu that practices such as fake discounts, pressure selling, a forced prize wheel, fake reviews and hidden contact details appeared to break EU law. The case is ongoing.[10][11]
The European Commission opened formal proceedings against Temu covering illegal products, addictive game-like design, recommender systems and researchers’ access to data.[12]
Arkansas’s Attorney General sued PDD Holdings and WhaleCo, alleging deceptive practices and unlawful access to users’ personal data. These are allegations; HARD could not find a ruling on the state’s pages.[13]

Scams that use Temu

Fake courier fees
Someone posing as a delivery company says your Temu parcel needs an extra shipping fee before it can be delivered. Temu has warned about this; check the order in the app instead.[14]
Fake Temu staff asking for payment
A person claiming to work for Temu asks you to pay by QR code, e-wallet or wire transfer. Temu orders are paid only at Temu’s own checkout.[14]
Lookalike sites and prize messages
Copycat websites and apps send messages saying you have won a prize. Temu says to check you are on www.temu.com and to get the app only from Apple’s App Store or Google Play.[14]
Job and money offers
Unsolicited messages from unknown numbers offer part-time work or financial services and ask for your Temu account or order details. Temu says to treat these as suspicious.[14]
Refund and verification calls
Calls from unknown numbers offer a refund you did not ask for or want to ‘verify’ your personal information. Hang up and check your orders in the app.[14]

Shopping for a deal? How to check a shop before you pay covers fake shops and what to do if you already paid.

What to do

In order, with the place to find each one in Temu or on its site.

  1. Turn off marketing messages.Open the Notifications menu in the app and switch off promotional emails, text messages, WhatsApp messages and push notifications you don’t want.[4]
  2. Hide your name and photo from others.In the Notifications menu, turn off “Avatar and username sharing” so your profile picture and username are not shown in promotions or referrals.[4]
  3. Report problems through Your Orders.Go to Your Orders, choose the order and tap Return/Refund. Most items can be returned within 90 days; the first return on each order is free.[15]
  4. Take refunds to your card when it matters.When asked for a refund method, choose your original payment method if you may want cash back. Temu credit is faster but usually can’t be reversed or turned into cash.[15]
  5. Post returns within 14 days.After you submit a return, post the package within 14 days using Temu’s label, not the sender address on the parcel, or the return is cancelled.[15]
  6. Delete your account when you’re done.Temu says you can delete your account in the Settings section of the app.[4]

When not to use it

  • Buying safety-critical items such as phone chargers, electrical goods or toys for babies; EU test purchases found many of these failed safety checks.[6]
  • Letting a child shop on it: Temu says it is not for people under 18, and its App Store rating is 13+.[4][2]
  • Paying anyone outside Temu’s checkout, by QR code, e-wallet or wire transfer, even if they say they work for Temu.[14]

What HARD couldn’t verify

Claims you may see elsewhere that HARD couldn’t confirm from a primary source on 7 Nov 2026, so they aren’t in the record above.

  • Claims that the Temu app is malware or spyware come from lawsuits by state attorneys general in Arkansas and Nebraska; these are allegations, and no court or regulator has found this.
  • Kentucky’s Attorney General is reported to have sued Temu in July 2025; the Attorney General’s pages blocked access, so HARD could not confirm the details.
  • HARD could not find the current status of the Arkansas lawsuit on the Attorney General’s own pages.

Questions

Is Temu legit?

Yes, Temu is a real marketplace run by companies owned by PDD Holdings, with returns and refunds set out in its own policy. It has been fined by regulators, mainly over unsafe products and how it handles data, so it is legitimate but not risk-free.

Is Temu safe to buy from?

Mostly, if you pay only at Temu’s checkout and keep to low-risk items. Most things can be returned within 90 days, and missing parcels can be refunded. Avoid chargers, electrical goods and baby toys, which EU tests found often failed safety checks.

Is Temu a scam?

No. Temu itself is not a scam, but scammers copy its name with fake websites, prize messages, courier fees and calls. Temu’s orders are paid only in its own app or at www.temu.com.

Is Temu Chinese?

Temu’s owner, PDD Holdings, gives an address in Dublin, Ireland in its US filings. Temu is run by Whaleco Inc. in the US and a Singapore company in Australia, and many sellers ship from overseas.

Does Temu sell my data?

Its privacy policy says it shares data with advertising and analytics partners for interest-based ads, and with sellers to deliver orders. Sellers do not get your payment details. You can turn off marketing messages in the Notifications menu.

Is Temu safe for kids?

Temu says it does not sell to children and does not knowingly collect data from under-18s. Its App Store rating is 13+. A parent should place orders, not a child.

Shopping apps on HARD: Is AliExpress safe?, Is Shein safe?, Is TikTok Shop safe?, Is DHgate safe?. All of them: Is it safe?

References

Primary sources only: Temu’s own pages, regulators, courts and app stores. Each was checked on 7 Nov 2026.

  1. US Securities and Exchange Commission. PDD Holdings Inc. company filings (EDGAR). sec.gov, checked 7 Nov 2026
  2. Apple App Store. Temu: Shop Like a Billionaire. apps.apple.com, checked 7 Nov 2026
  3. Federal Trade Commission. Online Marketplace Temu to Pay $2 Million Penalty for Alleged INFORM Act Violations, 5 Sep 2025. ftc.gov, checked 7 Nov 2026
  4. Temu. Temu Australia Privacy Policy, 1 Jan 2026. temu.com, checked 7 Nov 2026
  5. European Commission. Commission accepts Temu’s corrective measures to terminate breach of the Digital Services Act, 26 Oct 2026. digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu, checked 7 Nov 2026
  6. European Commission. Commission fines Temu €200 million for breaching the Digital Services Act, 28 May 2026. digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu, checked 7 Nov 2026
  7. European Commission. Commission preliminarily finds Temu in breach of the Digital Services Act in relation to illegal products on its platform, 28 Jul 2025. digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu, checked 7 Nov 2026
  8. Nebraska Attorney General. Attorney General Hilgers Files Lawsuit Against Temu for Siphoning Nebraskans’ Phone Data, 12 Jun 2025. ago.nebraska.gov, checked 7 Nov 2026
  9. Personal Information Protection Commission (South Korea). The PIPC Sanctions Temu for Unlawful Cross-Border Data Transfer and Other Violations, 20 May 2025. pipc.go.kr, checked 7 Nov 2026
  10. European Commission. Commission and national authorities urge Temu to respect EU consumer protection laws, 8 Nov 2024. ec.europa.eu, checked 7 Nov 2026
  11. European Commission. Market places and digital services: coordinated consumer protection actions. commission.europa.eu, checked 7 Nov 2026
  12. European Commission. Commission opens formal proceedings against Temu under the Digital Services Act, 31 Oct 2024. digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu, checked 7 Nov 2026
  13. Arkansas Attorney General. Attorney General Griffin Sues Chinese E-Commerce Company Temu for Deceiving Arkansans, Illegally Accessing Their Personal Information, 25 Jun 2024. arkansasag.gov, checked 7 Nov 2026
  14. Temu (press release via PR Newswire). Temu Enlists Help of Consumers to Flag Scam Sites, Shares Tips to Shop Safely This Holiday Season, 20 Nov 2023. prnewswire.com, checked 7 Nov 2026
  15. Temu. Temu Return and Refund Policy (Australia), 17 Sep 2026. temu.com, checked 7 Nov 2026