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	<updated>2026-05-20T23:07:45Z</updated>
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		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Forced_app_download&amp;diff=10169</id>
		<title>Forced app download</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Forced_app_download&amp;diff=10169"/>
		<updated>2025-02-27T11:54:23Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: Added example and screenshot for banking and finance - Citibank Singapore&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{incomplete}}&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Forced app download&#039;&#039;&#039; is a practice by businesses and government entities, where users are forced to download an app to their phones to perform basic tasks that could have otherwise been done on a standard web browser&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9380491 D. Tian, Y. Ma, A. Balasubramanian, Y. Liu, G. Huang and X. Liu, &amp;quot;Characterizing Embedded Web Browsing in Mobile Apps,&amp;quot; in IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, vol. 21, no. 11, pp. 3912-3925, 1 Nov. 2022, doi: 10.1109/TMC.2021.3065945.]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; (e.g., adding a credit card for payments) or in real life (e.g., ordering a coffee).&amp;lt;!-- Although this is a theme article, and therefore has more relaxed editorial guidelines, i&#039;m going to put a &#039;needs more verification&#039; notice on this page to encourage the use of more citations. Have also put some comments throughout to highlight tonal issues/any questions I have. Very solid start on the whole though!&lt;br /&gt;
-Keith --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Forced app download is becoming increasingly popular in many countries pushing digitization. A prime example is Singapore whose government is all-in on digital everything, where it is impossible for anyone to have a bank account without using the bank&#039;s app, and everyone must have a device that runs stock iOS or Android in order to download various government and business apps from their respective official app stores. Devices must also be running stock operating systems, since most government and business apps conduct intrusive checks and require extensive technical knowledge to run if a device is jailbroken or rooted.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/8330-app-compatibility-with-grapheneos&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://github.com/chiteroman/PlayIntegrityFix&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Most companies&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://cybernews.com/news/facebook-spying-snapchat-youtube-amazon-installing-kits/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; (and likely most governments)&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://lunduke.substack.com/p/the-pokemon-go-spying-conspiracy&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; would love for this to happen in more countries across the globe because forced app download allows for:&amp;lt;!-- tone needs to be a little calmer here. Still persuasive, but calmer. --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
#&#039;&#039;&#039;Identification and tracking of users&#039;&#039;&#039;  - not just on an account level and payments, but through deep device identifiers, location, and network connection&lt;br /&gt;
#&#039;&#039;&#039;Push of the cashless agenda&#039;&#039;&#039; - digital-only payments typically go hand-in-hand with app-only experiences&lt;br /&gt;
#&#039;&#039;&#039;Increased digital integration&#039;&#039;&#039; - endless possibilities of integrating and sharing data with payment processors, ad providers,&lt;br /&gt;
#&#039;&#039;&#039;Increased centralization and dependency on big companies&#039;&#039;&#039; - putting more power in the hands of big tech (Apple and Google) with mandatory official app store downloads and big payments (Visa and MasterCard) with forced digital payments&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Characteristics==&lt;br /&gt;
Forced app download involves:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
#&#039;&#039;&#039;Forcing download and use of app to interact with a business&#039;&#039;&#039; - Basic tasks like ordering, making payments, changing settings.&lt;br /&gt;
#&#039;&#039;&#039;Deliberately crippling or removing functionality from the web experience&#039;&#039;&#039; - Prevent users from having an alternative interface to perform basic tasks.&lt;br /&gt;
#&#039;&#039;&#039;Forcing users to always be on the latest version of an app&#039;&#039;&#039; - &amp;quot;For your security&amp;quot; (as they usually claim), most of these apps will constantly check for the latest version and self-disable if they are older than X versions (varies by company)&lt;br /&gt;
#&#039;&#039;&#039;Mandatory use of account&#039;&#039;&#039; - For most of these apps to work, you must have an account for features to work. For example, with the Luckin Coffee app, you must create an account tied to your phone number. You cannot order as a guest&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Key implications==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===User tracking and intrusion of privacy===&lt;br /&gt;
The hallmarks of forced app download are mandatory account creation and usage, and digital payments. This allows tracking of the user not just by the company behind the app, but the payment provider and any other associated third-party partners.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Mandatory use of &amp;quot;approved devices&amp;quot; and big-tech operating systems===&lt;br /&gt;
Most apps are only available for download on official from official app stores, meaning consumers must use a device running stock iOS or Android, or else jump through hoops to run them&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Android#Run_Android_apps_on_Arch_Linux&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://stackoverflow.com/a/18003462&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Devices must also be running stock operating systems since most government and business apps conduct intrusive checks&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://developer.android.com/google/play/integrity/setup#default&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and will not run if a device is jailbroken or rooted.&amp;lt;!-- How prevalent is this outside singapore? also seems like a direct restatement of what was said earlier --&amp;gt;&amp;lt;!-- The following block should include info about common apps that integrate these invasive measures. --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Some companies such as big banks in Singapore have also started incorporating checks for &amp;quot;unverified apps&amp;quot; in their app. This means their app will scan your phone and check for sideloaded apps (anywhere that is not the official app store. For example, an app downloaded directly from APK Mirror or an unofficial app repository like F-Droid) as part of &amp;quot;anti-scam security measures that include restricting customers from accessing the banks’ digital services on their mobile phones if apps from unverified app stores – also known as sideloaded apps – are detected&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/dbs-uob-anti-scam-sideloaded-app-malware-measure-latest-bank-restrict-app-access-3796806&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===[[Surge pricing]]===&lt;br /&gt;
So far, the implementation of surge pricing in the context of businesses that use forced app download has not yet been seen. However, trust that the enterprising individuals and ecommerce platform providers (especially &amp;quot;modern headless ecommerce&amp;quot; companies&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.forrester.com/blogs/doing-selling-and-being-headless-commerce/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;) looking to maximize clean out of consumers&#039; wallets will quickly develop and deploy surge pricing once businesses with forced app download gain sufficient footing both in their respective industries and in general market penetration.&amp;lt;!-- rather than making this assertion, maybe try and find come companies who have proposed/patented systems to this end? Also tone gets a bit strong here --&amp;gt;&amp;lt;!-- I&#039;ll come back later and finish this up once I have more time to look at relevant examples. --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Since ordering and payments are entirely digital, it is very possible to see surge pricing (similar to what we&#039;ve seen from ride hailing companies like Uber, Lyft and Grab) implemented across other industries.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For example, a restaurant that is popular enough could implement surge pricing to charge more during peak hours, like weekday lunch time to hit the downtime office crowd that is lacking in time and places to eat, or Friday night when many people are looking to go out.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Third-party integration===&lt;br /&gt;
Just like how some car insurance providers in the US are adjusting their rates based on &amp;quot;smart&amp;quot; reporting from cars, it is also very possible for other intrusive and oppressive pair ups to happen. For example:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*Restaurants, cafes and bars with forced app download sharing data with health insurance companies, who increase your premium if they see a lifestyle/pattern of ordering unhealthy dishes or overly large portions, or frequenting that bubble tea shop too often.&lt;br /&gt;
*Government tax agency charging you &amp;quot;excess carbon footprint&amp;quot; taxes because you often order a lot of clothes beyond the number that the &amp;quot;Average&amp;quot; person of your profile wears, based on what your favorite fast fashion retailer with forced app download is sharing with them.&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Digital turbine logo .png|alt=digital turbine logo |thumb|digital turbine logo ]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:No unverified apps.png|thumb|Singapore banks will &amp;quot;restrict access if unverified apps AKA sideloaded apps are found on customers&#039; phones&amp;quot; (News story from Sep 2023)]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Examples==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Mobile Carriers and App marketplaces&#039;&#039;&#039; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Companies like [[digital turbine]] auction&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.digitalturbine.com/dt-fairbid&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; off placement in carriers automatic download lists and recommended app&#039;s placement in first and third party app stores&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.digitalturbine.com/telecom&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;   &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Digital turbine sells forced app downloads from app developers like: [[zynga]], miniclip games, [[King Digital Entertainment|&#039;&#039;&#039;King&#039;&#039;&#039; Digital Entertainment]] and [[Uber EULA precludes jury trial|Uber]],  placement in forced download lists to carries like: [[Verizon]], [[At&amp;amp;T]], [[Cricket wireless]], us cellular, tracfone  and T-mobile. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.digitalturbine.com/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Banking and finance===&lt;br /&gt;
All banks in Singapore (Citi, DBS, UOB, OCBC, Standard Chartered, CIMB) mandate use of their apps for consumers to perform any online banking activities, including logging in via their web browser.&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Forced app download.png|thumb|Luckin Coffee, a China-origin Starbucks competitor, forces you to download their app to order and pay for coffee. You cannot order coffee at the cashier in their store, let alone pay. You must use the app to interact with this business and digital payments to pay.]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Forced app download - Citibank Singapore.png|thumb|Citibank Singapore has deliberately disabled many basic functions such as rewards redemption on its website since 2024, forcing users to download and use their mobile app as an &amp;quot;alternative&amp;quot;.]]&lt;br /&gt;
The apps generate notifications that require users to approve/deny actions like logging in via a web browser, initiating a payment, adding a payee, etc via the app itself. Some banks previously offered sending an OTP via SMS (text) as an alternative to app-based approval but this has since been discontinued for &amp;quot;security reasons&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===&#039;&#039;&#039;Insurance&#039;&#039;&#039;===&lt;br /&gt;
Auto insurance companies like [[Progressive]], require non policy holders effected by automotive incidents their policyholders claim to submit photos and video evidence of damages exclusively through their mobile app.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;:0&amp;quot;&amp;gt;https://www.progressive.com/claims/auto-process/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;  Affected non policy holders can&#039;t complete the entire claim process through their website even though you can start the process online from any device and web browser. &amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;:0&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Utilities and public services===&lt;br /&gt;
SP Group is Singapore&#039;s primary and default electricity provider, as well as the country&#039;s only provider for gas and water for consumers. In 2022, SP Group removed the ability to manage payments from their website, forcing users to download and use their mobile app to pay bills/manage recurring payments&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.spdigital.sg/spapp/bill-payment&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As they are the country&#039;s only provider for gas and water, everyone in Singapore MUST download their app at some point.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Home appliances and hardware===&lt;br /&gt;
Speaker and sound hardware company [[Sonos]] has been a big practitioner of forced app download since at least 2017&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://en.community.sonos.com/advanced-setups-229000/make-sonos-work-without-internet-6795315&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Sonos makes it extremely difficult and annoying, if not impossible for their customers to use their purchased hardware without an app and/or internet connection.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Even though it is possible to use Sonos speakers without an app, initial setup has required the download and use of Sonos&#039; app since at least May 2022.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Yes you can (use the Sonos Roam speaker without an app). However, you will need to set it up for the first time using the app.&amp;quot; (May 2022)&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://en.community.sonos.com/portable-speakers-229130/can-i-use-a-roam-without-the-app-6869207&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In addition, not all Sonos products support use without an app (April 2023)&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://soundscapehq.com/how-to-use-sonos-without-app/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and even if they do, sans-app usability is only limited to one speaker.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;You can use speakers without an app, but it only applies to a single speaker. If you want to play audio across multiple speakers, you will have to use the app and there is no other workaround to this.&amp;quot; (Dec 2021)&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://earrockers.com/can-you-use-sonos-speakers-without-the-app/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===&#039;&#039;&#039;Hobbyist tools&#039;&#039;&#039;===&lt;br /&gt;
3D Printer manufacturer [[Bambu Lab]] forces users to bind their machines to an account via the use of an app called Bambu Handy and also forces the user to connect the machine to the internet whether they want to use LAN only mode or not. The fallout of this is that if you reset a machine and the servers are shut down the machine is a brick. [https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/x1/manual/setup-for-first-print]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Retail and ecommerce===&lt;br /&gt;
Ecommerce giant [[Shopee]] which has a stronghold in online retail in South East Asia and Latin America has integrated a soft forced app download to their customer experience.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While it is still possible to browse, shop and checkout on a web browser, coupons usable on the web experience (regardless if mobile or desktop device) are limited to &amp;quot;Shipping Discount&amp;quot; coupons only. All other shopping coupons &amp;quot;Discount &amp;amp; Cashback&amp;quot; are only usable with Shopee&#039;s apps on iOS and Android.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When a customer attempts to check out on a web browser, Shopee shows that Discount &amp;amp; Cashback coupons are not usable because &amp;quot;Current device does not meet voucher T&amp;amp;C&amp;quot;. On closer inspection of the terms and conditions of those coupons, Shopee specifies &amp;quot;Device: iOS, Android&amp;quot;. What they are referring to is you must download and use their mobile apps for those operating systems in order to use most of their coupons. As pictured, the coupons are still not available on iOS and Android devices if the customer is using their web browser. They MUST download the Shopee app.&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee restricts coupon usage to app only.png|thumb|LEFT: Shopee limits customers to using &amp;quot;Shipping Discount&amp;quot; coupons only if checking out on a web browser (desktop and mobile).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MIDDLE: All other shopping coupons &amp;quot;Discount &amp;amp; Cashback&amp;quot; are only usable with Shopee&#039;s apps on iOS and Android.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
RIGHT: Closer inspection of the terms and conditions where Shopee specifies a device requirement for using many of their coupons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When Shopee specifies &amp;quot;Device: iOS, Android&amp;quot;, they mean customers must download and use their mobile apps for those operating systems in order to use most of their coupons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Using a web browser on iOS and Android does not count and coupons in question remain disabled in this scenario.]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee coupon still unusable on mobile web.jpg|thumb|Using a web browser on iOS and Android does not count and coupons with the device requirement remain disabled. What Shopee means by &amp;quot;Device: iOS, Android&amp;quot; in their coupons&#039; terms and conditions is that customers MUST download and use the Shopee app for those coupons to be usable.]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Food and beverage===&lt;br /&gt;
An increasing number of &#039;digital-native&#039; food businesses that are app-only are making their way onto the market. For example, Luckin Coffee, a Starbucks competitor of China origin with stores in Singapore and planned expansion into Malaysia and the US in 2025&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.worldcoffeeportal.com/Latest/News/2024/October/China-s-Luckin-Coffee-reportedly-planning-US-launc&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, only allows ordering of beverages and payments via its app. The way it works is you download the app, register an account, log in, order a coffee and pay for it, then pick it up at a Luckin Coffee location. &amp;quot;With Luckin, you do not order coffee over the counter like in regular Western coffee shops. Instead, you do everything online. I ordered my drinks here without even needing to talk to the Barista!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.clearlycoffee.com/review-signature-luckin-coffee-drinks-photos-creamy-dreamy-big-cheesy-coconut-latte/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
With a food-and-beverage business that is fully committed to forced app download like Luckin Coffee, there is no way to order nor pay at the physical store. You must download and use the app to interact with the business.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Forced app download represents the next stage of evolution from QR code based ordering. The key differences are:&lt;br /&gt;
{| class=&amp;quot;wikitable&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
|+&lt;br /&gt;
!Characteristic&lt;br /&gt;
!Forced app download&lt;br /&gt;
!QR-code based&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|Interface&lt;br /&gt;
|App downloaded from official app store&lt;br /&gt;
|Page opened in your choice of web browser&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|Ordering&lt;br /&gt;
|Order MUST be placed via app&lt;br /&gt;
|QR is pushed but usually possible to order offline (in real life)&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|Login&lt;br /&gt;
|You MUST create an account and log in to place an order&lt;br /&gt;
|Not required, often no registration is possible&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|Payments&lt;br /&gt;
|Cashless digital payment only&lt;br /&gt;
Payment MUST be made via app&lt;br /&gt;
|Depending on website, sometimes order online, pay offline&lt;br /&gt;
Depending on business, cash payments are usually possible&lt;br /&gt;
|}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Anti-Consumer_Practices]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Common terms]]&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references /&amp;gt;&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Citibank_Singapore_forced_app_download.png&amp;diff=10168</id>
		<title>File:Citibank Singapore forced app download.png</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Citibank_Singapore_forced_app_download.png&amp;diff=10168"/>
		<updated>2025-02-27T11:52:21Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Forced app download - Citibank Singapore&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Scribd&amp;diff=9071</id>
		<title>Scribd</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Scribd&amp;diff=9071"/>
		<updated>2025-02-18T06:20:15Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: Created page on Scribd with basic descriptions and screenshots of predatory free trial program&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Scribd Inc. owns 3 of the biggest and oldest file and document hosting platforms on the internet: Scribd for documents, SlideShare and Everand.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Scribd gatekeeps documents uploaded by their users, which Scribd does not own and did not create, behind a login wall.&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Scribd forced download.png|thumb|Scribd forces their free trial onto users who want to download documents]]&lt;br /&gt;
Behind that login wall, they push their free trial which requires a credit card in order for a user to download. While they do offer an alternative of uploading 5 documents for a user to download their desired document for free, A) most users are there to download documents, the ratio of uploaders to downloaders is always going to be few-many and B) this option is written in small text and placed at the bottom of the page, implying Scribd&#039;s main goal is to push their free trial.&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Scribd credit card page.png|thumb|Scribd free trial subscription page that tries to capture users&#039; credit card information. Scribd practices a classic predatory scheme that relies on users forgetting to cancel and getting billed every month.]]&lt;br /&gt;
This is a classic predatory &amp;quot;get your credit card details and hope you forget to cancel so they can charge you&amp;quot; scheme.&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Scribd_credit_card_page.png&amp;diff=9070</id>
		<title>File:Scribd credit card page.png</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Scribd_credit_card_page.png&amp;diff=9070"/>
		<updated>2025-02-18T06:15:57Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Scribd credit card page&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Scribd_forced_download.png&amp;diff=9069</id>
		<title>File:Scribd forced download.png</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Scribd_forced_download.png&amp;diff=9069"/>
		<updated>2025-02-18T06:08:21Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Scribd secret/forced download&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Forced_app_download&amp;diff=3704</id>
		<title>Forced app download</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Forced_app_download&amp;diff=3704"/>
		<updated>2025-01-21T03:14:33Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: Added Home appliances and Hardware section, added Sonos as example&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{incomplete}}&lt;br /&gt;
Forced app download experience is an experience where the user is forced by a business or government entity to download an app to their phone to perform basic tasks that could have otherwise been done on a standard web browser&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9380491 D. Tian, Y. Ma, A. Balasubramanian, Y. Liu, G. Huang and X. Liu, &amp;quot;Characterizing Embedded Web Browsing in Mobile Apps,&amp;quot; in IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, vol. 21, no. 11, pp. 3912-3925, 1 Nov. 2022, doi: 10.1109/TMC.2021.3065945.]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; (e.g. adding a credit card for payments) or in real life (e.g. ordering a coffee).&amp;lt;!-- Although this is a theme article, and therefore has more relaxed editorial guidelines, i&#039;m going to put a &#039;needs more verification&#039; notice on this page to encourage the use of more citations. Have also put some comments throughout to highlight tonal issues/any questions I have. Very solid start on the whole though!&lt;br /&gt;
-Keith --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The forced app download experience is becoming increasingly popular in many countries pushing digitization. A prime example is Singapore whose government is all-in on digital everything, where it is impossible for anyone to have a bank account without using the bank&#039;s app and everyone must have a device that runs stock iOS or Android in order to download various government and business apps from their respective official app stores. Devices must also be running stock operating systems since most government and business apps conduct intrusive checks and require extensive technical knowledge&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/8330-app-compatibility-with-grapheneos&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://github.com/chiteroman/PlayIntegrityFix&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; to run if a device is jailbroken or rooted.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Most companies&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://cybernews.com/news/facebook-spying-snapchat-youtube-amazon-installing-kits/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; (and likely most governments&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://lunduke.substack.com/p/the-pokemon-go-spying-conspiracy&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; too) would love for this to happen in more countries across the globe because the forced app download experience allows for:&amp;lt;!-- tone needs to be a little calmer here. Still persuasive, but calmer. --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Identification and tracking of users&#039;&#039;&#039;  - not just on an account level and payments, but through deep device identifiers, location, and network connection&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Push of the cashless agenda&#039;&#039;&#039; - digital-only payments typically go hand-in-hand with app-only experiences&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Increased digital integration&#039;&#039;&#039; - endless possibilities of integrating and sharing data with payment processors, ad providers,&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Increased centralization and dependency on big companies&#039;&#039;&#039; - putting more power in the hands of big tech (Apple and Google) with mandatory official app store downloads and big payments (Visa and MasterCard) with forced digital payments&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Characteristics ==&lt;br /&gt;
The forced app download experience involves:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Forcing download and use of app to interact with a business&#039;&#039;&#039; - Basic tasks like ordering, making payments, changing settings.&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Deliberately crippling or removing functionality from the web experience&#039;&#039;&#039; - Prevent users from having an alternative interface to perform basic tasks.&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Forcing users to always be on the latest version of an app&#039;&#039;&#039; - &amp;quot;For your security&amp;quot; (as they usually claim), most of these apps will constantly check for the latest version and self-disable if they are older than X versions (varies by company)&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Mandatory use of account&#039;&#039;&#039; - For most of these apps to work, you must have an account for features to work. For example, with the Luckin Coffee app, you must create an account tied to your phone number. You cannot order as a guest&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Key implications ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== User tracking and intrusion of privacy ===&lt;br /&gt;
The hallmarks of the forced app download experience are mandatory account creation and usage, and digital payments. This allows tracking of the user not just by the company behind the app, but the payment provider and any other associated third-party partners.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Mandatory use of &amp;quot;approved devices&amp;quot; and big tech operating systems ===&lt;br /&gt;
Most apps are only available for download on official from official app stores, meaning consumers must use a device running stock iOS or Android, or else jump through hoops to run them&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Android#Run_Android_apps_on_Arch_Linux&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://stackoverflow.com/a/18003462&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Devices must also be running stock operating systems since most government and business apps conduct intrusive checks&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://developer.android.com/google/play/integrity/setup#default&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and will not run if a device is jailbroken or rooted.&amp;lt;!-- How prevalent is this outside singapore? also seems like a direct restatement of what was said earlier --&amp;gt;&amp;lt;!-- The following block should include info about common apps that integrate these invasive measures. --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Some companies such as big banks in Singapore have also started incorporating checks for &amp;quot;unverified apps&amp;quot; in their app. This means their app will scan your phone and check for sideloaded apps (anywhere that is not the official app store. For example, an app downloaded directly from APK Mirror or an unofficial app repository like F-Droid) as part of &amp;quot;anti-scam security measures that include restricting customers from accessing the banks’ digital services on their mobile phones if apps from unverified app stores – also known as sideloaded apps – are detected&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/dbs-uob-anti-scam-sideloaded-app-malware-measure-latest-bank-restrict-app-access-3796806&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Surge pricing ===&lt;br /&gt;
So far, the implementation of surge pricing in the context of businesses that have the forced app download experience has not yet been seen. However, trust that the enterprising individuals and ecommerce platform providers (especially &amp;quot;modern headless ecommerce&amp;quot; companies&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.forrester.com/blogs/doing-selling-and-being-headless-commerce/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;) looking to maximize clean out of consumers&#039; wallets will quickly develop and deploy surge pricing once businesses with forced app download experiences gain sufficient footing both in their respective industries and in general market penetration.&amp;lt;!-- rather than making this assertion, maybe try and find come companies who have proposed/patented systems to this end? Also tone gets a bit strong here --&amp;gt;&amp;lt;!-- I&#039;ll come back later and finish this up once I have more time to look at relevant examples. --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Since ordering and payments are entirely digital, it is very possible to see surge pricing (similar to what we&#039;ve seen from ride hailing companies like Uber, Lyft and Grab) implemented across other industries.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For example, a restaurant that is popular enough could implement surge pricing to charge more during peak hours, like weekday lunch time to hit the downtime office crowd that is lacking in time and places to eat, or Friday night when many people are looking to go out.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Third-party integration ===&lt;br /&gt;
Just like how some car insurance providers in the US are adjusting their rates based on &amp;quot;smart&amp;quot; reporting from cars, it is also very possible for other intrusive and oppressive pair ups to happen. For example:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* Restaurants, cafes and bars with forced app download experiences sharing data with health insurance companies, who increase your premium if they see a lifestyle/pattern of ordering unhealthy dishes or overly large portions, or frequenting that bubble tea shop too often.&lt;br /&gt;
* Government tax agency charging you &amp;quot;excess carbon footprint&amp;quot; taxes because you often order a lot of clothes beyond the number that the &amp;quot;Average&amp;quot; person of your profile wears, based on what your favorite fast fashion retailer with a forced app download experience is sharing with them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:No unverified apps.png|thumb|Singapore banks will &amp;quot;restrict access if unverified apps AKA sideloaded apps are found on customers&#039; phones&amp;quot; (News story from Sep 2023)]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Examples ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Banking and finance ===&lt;br /&gt;
All banks in Singapore (Citi, DBS, UOB, OCBC, Standard Chartered, CIMB) mandate use of their apps for consumers to perform any online banking activities, including logging in via their web browser.&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Forced app download.png|thumb|Luckin Coffee, a China-origin Starbucks competitor, forces you to download their app to order and pay for coffee. You cannot order coffee at the cashier in their store, let alone pay. You must use the app to interact with this business and digital payments to pay.]]&lt;br /&gt;
The apps generate notifications that require users to approve/deny actions like logging in via a web browser, initiating a payment, adding a payee, etc via the app itself. Some banks previously offered sending an OTP via SMS (text) as an alternative to app-based approval but this has since been discontinued for &amp;quot;security reasons&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Utilities and public services ===&lt;br /&gt;
SP Group is Singapore&#039;s primary and default electricity provider, as well as the country&#039;s only provider for gas and water for consumers. In 2022, SP Group removed the ability to manage payments from their website, forcing users to download and use their mobile app to pay bills/manage recurring payments&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.spdigital.sg/spapp/bill-payment&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As they are the country&#039;s only provider for gas and water, everyone in Singapore MUST download their app at some point.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Home appliances and hardware ===&lt;br /&gt;
Speaker and sound hardware company [[Sonos]] has been a big practitioner of the forced app download experience since at least 2017&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://en.community.sonos.com/advanced-setups-229000/make-sonos-work-without-internet-6795315&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Sonos makes it extremely difficult and annoying, if not impossible for their customers to use their purchased hardware without an app and/or internet connection.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Even though it is possible to use Sonos speakers without an app, initial setup has required the download and use of Sonos&#039; app since at least May 2022.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Yes you can (use the Sonos Roam speaker without an app). However, you will need to set it up for the first time using the app.&amp;quot; (May 2022)&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://en.community.sonos.com/portable-speakers-229130/can-i-use-a-roam-without-the-app-6869207&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In addition, not all Sonos products support use without an app (April 2023)&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://soundscapehq.com/how-to-use-sonos-without-app/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and even if they do, sans-app usability is only limited to one speaker.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;You can use speakers without an app, but it only applies to a single speaker. If you want to play audio across multiple speakers, you will have to use the app and there is no other workaround to this.&amp;quot; (Dec 2021)&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://earrockers.com/can-you-use-sonos-speakers-without-the-app/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Retail and ecommerce ===&lt;br /&gt;
Ecommerce giant [[Shopee]] which has a stronghold in online retail in South East Asia and Latin America has integrated a soft forced app download experience to their customer experience.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While it is still possible to browse, shop and checkout on a web browser, coupons usable on the web experience (regardless if mobile or desktop device) are limited to &amp;quot;Shipping Discount&amp;quot; coupons only. All other shopping coupons &amp;quot;Discount &amp;amp; Cashback&amp;quot; are only usable with Shopee&#039;s apps on iOS and Android.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When a customer attempts to check out on a web browser, Shopee shows that Discount &amp;amp; Cashback coupons are not usable because &amp;quot;Current device does not meet voucher T&amp;amp;C&amp;quot;. On closer inspection of the terms and conditions of those coupons, Shopee specifies &amp;quot;Device: iOS, Android&amp;quot;. What they are referring to is you must download and use their mobile apps for those operating systems in order to use most of their coupons. As pictured, the coupons are still not available on iOS and Android devices if the customer is using their web browser. They MUST download the Shopee app.&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee restricts coupon usage to app only.png|thumb|LEFT: Shopee limits customers to using &amp;quot;Shipping Discount&amp;quot; coupons only if checking out on a web browser (desktop and mobile).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MIDDLE: All other shopping coupons &amp;quot;Discount &amp;amp; Cashback&amp;quot; are only usable with Shopee&#039;s apps on iOS and Android.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
RIGHT: Closer inspection of the terms and conditions where Shopee specifies a device requirement for using many of their coupons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When Shopee specifies &amp;quot;Device: iOS, Android&amp;quot;, they mean customers must download and use their mobile apps for those operating systems in order to use most of their coupons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Using a web browser on iOS and Android does not count and coupons in question remain disabled in this scenario.]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee coupon still unusable on mobile web.jpg|thumb|Using a web browser on iOS and Android does not count and coupons with the device requirement remain disabled. What Shopee means by &amp;quot;Device: iOS, Android&amp;quot; in their coupons&#039; terms and conditions is that customers MUST download and use the Shopee app for those coupons to be usable.]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Food and beverage ===&lt;br /&gt;
An increasing number of &#039;digital-native&#039; food businesses that are app-only are making their way onto the market. For example, Luckin Coffee, a Starbucks competitor of China origin with stores in Singapore and planned expansion into Malaysia and the US in 2025&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.worldcoffeeportal.com/Latest/News/2024/October/China-s-Luckin-Coffee-reportedly-planning-US-launc&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, only allows ordering of beverages and payments via its app. The way it works is you download the app, register an account, log in, order a coffee and pay for it, then pick it up at a Luckin Coffee location. &amp;quot;With Luckin, you do not order coffee over the counter like in regular Western coffee shops. Instead, you do everything online. I ordered my drinks here without even needing to talk to the Barista!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.clearlycoffee.com/review-signature-luckin-coffee-drinks-photos-creamy-dreamy-big-cheesy-coconut-latte/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
With a food and beverage business that is fully committed to the forced app download experience like Luckin Coffee, there is no way to order nor pay at the physical store. You &#039;&#039;&#039;must download and use the app&#039;&#039;&#039; to interact with the business.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Forced app download experience represents the next stage of evolution from QR code based ordering. The key differences are:&lt;br /&gt;
{| class=&amp;quot;wikitable&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
|+&lt;br /&gt;
!Characteristic&lt;br /&gt;
!Forced app download experience&lt;br /&gt;
!QR code based ordering&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|Interface&lt;br /&gt;
|App downloaded from official app store&lt;br /&gt;
|Page opened in your choice of web browser&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|Ordering&lt;br /&gt;
|Order MUST be placed via app&lt;br /&gt;
|QR is pushed but usually possible to order offline (in real life)&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|Login&lt;br /&gt;
|You MUST create an account and log in to place an order&lt;br /&gt;
|Not required, often no registration is possible&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|Payments&lt;br /&gt;
|Cashless digital payment only&lt;br /&gt;
Payment MUST be made via app&lt;br /&gt;
|Depending on website, sometimes order online, pay offline&lt;br /&gt;
Depending on business, cash payments are usually possible&lt;br /&gt;
|}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== References ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Common terms]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Sonos&amp;diff=3703</id>
		<title>Sonos</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Sonos&amp;diff=3703"/>
		<updated>2025-01-21T03:12:57Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: Added Forced App Download Experience section, examples and citations&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{InfoboxCompany&lt;br /&gt;
| Name = Sonos&lt;br /&gt;
| Founded = 2002&lt;br /&gt;
| Industry = Audio Equipment&lt;br /&gt;
| Official Website = https://sonos.com&lt;br /&gt;
| Logo = Sonos.png&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Founded in 2002, &#039;&#039;&#039;[[Wikipedia:Sonos|Sonos, Inc.]]&#039;&#039;&#039;, is an American company that specializes in audio devices, including wireless speakers, home theater systems, and headphones.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Bricking of CR-100 Controllers ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 2018, citing an aging processor and lithium-ion battery, Sonos announced the release of software version 8.5, which would discontinue support for the controller.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;:0&amp;quot;&amp;gt;https://www.techradar.com/news/sonos-finally-kills-off-cr100-controller-and-long-time-fans-arent-happy&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; After the update was applied to a system, the CR-100 would be permanently bricked, and would be unable to connect to another system.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPnfqzBF3fw&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Sonos offered a coupon of $100 to affected customers,&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;:0&amp;quot; /&amp;gt; however, it is important to note that Sonos did not offer a similar product for sale. A discussion thread was initiated on the Sonos forum by dissatisfied users urging the company to reconsider its decision to discontinue the controller,&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://web.archive.org/web/20220823113720/https://en.community.sonos.com/controllers-software-228995/save-the-cr100-6800510&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; but their efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== &amp;quot;Recycle Mode&amp;quot; ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 2019, Sonos rendered formerly perfectly working devices, such as Connect, Connect:Amp, ZP90, ZP80, ZP100, ZP120, and Play:5 (Gen 1) into paperweights by disabling them altogether, because those devices were no longer receiving software updates. Customers were offered a 30 percent discount on a new Sonos device if they accepted Sonos to intentionally remotely bricking their existing device. Once a device is in Sonos&#039; &amp;quot;Recycle Mode,&amp;quot; it can no longer be used.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/unable-to-set-up-a-sonos-product-in-recycle-mode&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.engadget.com/2019-12-31-sonos-recycle-mode-explanation-falls-flat.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Sonos later ended this highly controversial and environmentally unfriendly program, but the damage was already done to otherwise still working hardware.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/5/21166777/sonos-ending-recycle-mode-trade-up-program-sustainability&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
However, since 2023, an open source project was created to recover devices that Sonos had put into &amp;quot;Recycle Mode.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://github.com/dbmaxpayne/Sonos-DSP&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Forced App Download Experience ==&lt;br /&gt;
Sonos has been a big practitioner of the [[forced app download experience]] since at least 2017&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://en.community.sonos.com/advanced-setups-229000/make-sonos-work-without-internet-6795315&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Sonos makes it extremely difficult and annoying, if not impossible for their customers to use their purchased hardware without an app and/or internet connection.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Even though it is possible to use Sonos speakers without an app, initial setup has required the download and use of Sonos&#039; app since at least May 2022.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Yes you can (use the Sonos Roam speaker without an app). However, you will need to set it up for the first time using the app.&amp;quot; (May 2022)&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://en.community.sonos.com/portable-speakers-229130/can-i-use-a-roam-without-the-app-6869207&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In addition, not all Sonos products support use without an app (April 2023)&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://soundscapehq.com/how-to-use-sonos-without-app/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and even if they do, sans-app usability is only limited to one speaker.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;You can use speakers without an app, but it only applies to a single speaker. If you want to play audio across multiple speakers, you will have to use the app and there is no other workaround to this.&amp;quot; (Dec 2021)&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://earrockers.com/can-you-use-sonos-speakers-without-the-app/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== References ==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Companies]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Online Services Companies]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Consumer Products Companies]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Shopee&amp;diff=3701</id>
		<title>Shopee</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Shopee&amp;diff=3701"/>
		<updated>2025-01-21T03:01:10Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: Added product listing and review hijacking example and citations of 5 star reviews dating back before a product was released.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
{{InfoboxCompany&lt;br /&gt;
| Name = Shopee&lt;br /&gt;
| Founded = 2015&lt;br /&gt;
| Industry = eCommerce&lt;br /&gt;
| Official Website = https://shopee.com&lt;br /&gt;
| Logo = Shopee.png&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;[[Wikipedia:Shopee|Shopee Pte., Ltd.]]&#039;&#039;&#039;, commonly known as &#039;&#039;&#039;Shopee&#039;&#039;&#039;, is an e-commerce website, founded in 2015 in Singapore, operating primarily in southeast Asia and Latin America. Shopee operates under [[Sea Ltd]], which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the $SE ticker.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SE&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee serves as [[Amazon]] for the East outside of China, being named the largest e-commerce platform in southeast Asia, with almost half of the the region&#039;s $47.9 billion in total gross merchandise volume in 2023 being attributed to Shopee.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://momentum.asia/product/ecommerce-in-southeast-asia-2023/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee is known to engage in unethical behavior similar to Amazon. While Shopee does not sell the majority of its products directly and relies on a vast number of sellers to shape its online marketplace, the fact that unethical or illegal practices have been allowed to continue for years and are still present to this day without any intervention suggest that Shopee is complicit in misleading customers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Review Manipulation ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Incentivizing Users to Post 5-Star Reviews Before Using or Even Unboxing a Product ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Removal of Unfavorable Reviews ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Product and Review Stacking ===&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee enables review fraud and manipulation further by allowing multiple variants of a product to be listed under one product listing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This is obviously intended for use cases such as:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# Same base product with different colors as variants (e.g. Clothes, home appliances)&lt;br /&gt;
# Same base product with different sizes as variants (e.g. Phone cases)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== Stacking Used and New Products ====&lt;br /&gt;
But unethical sellers often group used and new products together, so that the lower price shows up on search results (See the given screenshot on Alienware AW3225QF).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the given example:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* The customer is able to see RM4,690 (1,040 USD) as the listed price of the Alienware AW3225QF monitor on search results and the seller&#039;s storefront.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee_product_stacking_misleading_pricing.png|thumb|Shopee product stacking and review stacking by listing multiple variants under 1 product listing.]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* Upon clicking on the product, the customer will discover that the displayed price of RM4,690 is actually for a refurbished product.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://shopee.com.my/Alienware-AW3225QF-32-4K-QD-OLED-Gaming-Monitor-240Hz-(OC)-Refresh-Rate-0.03-ms-Response-Rate-with-Free-Shipping-i.64728735.25162663808&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* The real cost to buy the product new is actually RM5,170 (1,147 USD).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== Stacking Completely Different Products ====&lt;br /&gt;
Some sellers also outright group different, unrelated products together under one listing to stack reviews. (See the screenshot on Dell UltraSharp U4025QW)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the given example:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* The customer searches for a &amp;quot;Dell U4025QW&amp;quot; and sees one listed for RM7,000 (1,553 USD) in search results.&lt;br /&gt;
* Upon clicking on the product, the customer will discover that the displayed price is actually for a refurbished Dell U4021QW (a different, older product that is refurbished).&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://shopee.com.my/Dell-UltraSharp-U4025QW-U4021QW-5K-Curved-Thunderbolt-Hub-WUHD-Monitor-with-IPS-Black-Panel-Free-Shipping-i.64728735.6081544385&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* And the real cost to buy the Dell U4025QW new is actually RM9,740 (2,161 USD).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Product Hijacking ===&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee enables its sellers to completely change a listed product in title, description and images, while retaining reviews of the originally listed product. This allows sellers to boost newly launched products which would not yet have any buyers, to have glowing 5-star reviews off the bat.&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee manipulated product listing carry forward old reviews.png|thumb|Product review hijacking example: Multiple 5 star reviews on the Shopee product page of a Dell UltraSharp U4025QW monitor dating back as early as June 2021. The Dell UltraSharp U4025QW was announced on January 3, 2024 and &amp;quot;available globally beginning February 27, 2024&amp;quot;]]&lt;br /&gt;
In the pictured example of a Dell UltraSharp U4025QW monitor, there are multiple 5 star reviews on its Shopee product page dating back as early as June 2021&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://shopee.sg/%E3%80%90Same-Day-Delivery%E3%80%91Dell-UltraSharp-40-Curved-Thunderbolt%E2%84%A2-Hub-Monitor-U4025QW-i.231994510.7691275253&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. The Dell UltraSharp U4025QW was announced on January 3, 2024 and &amp;quot;available globally beginning February 27, 2024&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.dell.com/en-sg/blog/meet-the-new-five-star-certified-monitors-for-eye-comfort/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Forced App Download Experience ==&lt;br /&gt;
Ecommerce giant Shopee which has a stronghold in online retail in South East Asia and Latin America has integrated a soft [[Forced App Download Experience|forced app download experience]] to their customer experience since 2022 through coupon use restrictions.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While it is still possible to browse, shop and checkout on a web browser, coupons usable on the web experience (regardless if mobile or desktop device) are limited to &amp;quot;Shipping Discount&amp;quot; coupons only. All other shopping coupons &amp;quot;Discount &amp;amp; Cashback&amp;quot; are only usable with Shopee&#039;s apps on iOS and Android.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When a customer attempts to check out on a web browser, Shopee shows that Discount &amp;amp; Cashback coupons are not usable because &amp;quot;Current device does not meet voucher T&amp;amp;C&amp;quot;. On closer inspection of the terms and conditions of those coupons, Shopee specifies &amp;quot;Device: iOS, Android&amp;quot;. What they are referring to is you must download and use their mobile apps for those operating systems in order to use most of their coupons. As pictured, the coupons are still not available on iOS and Android devices if the customer is using their web browser. They MUST download the Shopee app.&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee restricts coupon usage to app only.png|thumb|LEFT: Shopee limits customers to using &amp;quot;Shipping Discount&amp;quot; coupons only if checking out on a web browser (desktop and mobile).MIDDLE: All other shopping coupons &amp;quot;Discount &amp;amp; Cashback&amp;quot; are only usable with Shopee&#039;s apps on iOS and Android.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
RIGHT: Closer inspection of the terms and conditions where Shopee specifies a device requirement for using many of their coupons.When Shopee specifies &amp;quot;Device: iOS, Android&amp;quot;, they mean customers must download and use their mobile apps for those operating systems in order to use most of their coupons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Using a web browser on iOS and Android does not count and coupons in question remain disabled in this scenario.]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee product stacking different product.png|thumb|Shopee product stacking with seller listing unrelated products as variants under 1 product listing.]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Misleading Advertising ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Misleading Coupon Codes ===&lt;br /&gt;
Displaying large discounts but with usage limits create a false sense of a good deal. Their most common misleading coupon is &amp;quot;-75% OFF! Max $1 discount&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The first pictured example shows a misleading coupon code from Shopee Malaysia (though Shopee also does this throughout the regions in which it operates) with &amp;quot;30% off&amp;quot; but multiple usage terms: &amp;quot;Capped at RM9&amp;quot; (USD 2) but &amp;quot;Minimum spend RM20&amp;quot; (USD 4.50).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This effectively means the customer has to buy within a range of RM20-RM30 in order for the coupon&#039;s advertised 30% off to be true. Past RM30 where the RM9 cap amount is hit, the coupon no longer provides 30% off (i.e. the customer can keep increasing the amount purchased, but the discount is capped at a fixed price, meaning the percentage discount drops below the advertised 30% number).&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee voucher with cap2.png|thumb|Another misleading coupon from Shopee with &amp;quot;80% off&amp;quot; but &amp;quot;capped at RM5&amp;quot; (USD 1.10). The cap is reached with a purchase amount of RM6.25 (USD 1.40).]]&lt;br /&gt;
The second pictured example shows another misleading coupon from Shopee with &amp;quot;80% off&amp;quot; but &amp;quot;capped at RM5&amp;quot; (USD 1.10). The cap is reached with a purchase amount of RM6.25 (USD 1.40).&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee voucher with cap.png|thumb|Misleading coupon code with &amp;quot;30% off&amp;quot; but &amp;quot;Capped at RM9&amp;quot; (USD 2) but &amp;quot;Minimum spend RM20&amp;quot; (USD 4.50). This forces the customer to spend only within the range of RM20-RM30 in order for the coupon&#039;s advertised 30% off to be true. Past RM30 where the RM9 cap amount is hit, the coupon no longer provides 30% off.]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== False Low Pricing ===&lt;br /&gt;
Since one product listing can have multiple &amp;quot;variants&amp;quot;, sellers often will list a refurbished and/or completely different product with a low price as a variant so that the lower price appears on the search.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Fraudulent Products and/or Advertising ==&lt;br /&gt;
A lot of fake products (2TB SD cards selling at 1/5th what their price is supposed to be, obviously spoofed capacity like those sold on Amazon too) and fake claims (&amp;quot;Magnetic&amp;quot; screen protectors for tablets which come with no magnetic properties and tear-off strips for adhesive)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Deterring Returns and Exchanges ==&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee and its sellers operate under the very South East Asian low trust principle which assumes the customer is always lying. The default way to handle returns and exchanges is to always ask for the original product back.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This makes it challenging for returning products that are low priced but bulky (e.g. clothes drying rack) and/or require assembly (e.g. cheap Chinese furniture, which make up the bulk of furniture across Shopee&#039;s regional websites).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Gating Content Behind a Login Wall ==&lt;br /&gt;
From time to time, when landing on Shopee&#039;s website (either direct or via search results), users will be redirected to the login page and are prevented from browsing products.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
No doubt this is a feature still being A/B tested. There are several advantages for Shopee doing this, such as being able to link browsing behavior directly to users and making it difficult to compare prices without an account.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== References ==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Companies]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Services]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Online Services Companies]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Shopee_manipulated_product_listing_carry_forward_old_reviews.png&amp;diff=3700</id>
		<title>File:Shopee manipulated product listing carry forward old reviews.png</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Shopee_manipulated_product_listing_carry_forward_old_reviews.png&amp;diff=3700"/>
		<updated>2025-01-21T03:00:29Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Product review hijacking example: Multiple 5 star reviews on the Shopee product page of a Dell UltraSharp U4025QW monitor dating back as early as June 2021. The Dell UltraSharp U4025QW was announced on January 3, 2024 and &amp;quot;available globally beginning February 27, 2024&amp;quot;&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Shopee&amp;diff=3697</id>
		<title>Shopee</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Shopee&amp;diff=3697"/>
		<updated>2025-01-21T02:48:54Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: Added improved misleading coupon example.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
{{InfoboxCompany&lt;br /&gt;
| Name = Shopee&lt;br /&gt;
| Founded = 2015&lt;br /&gt;
| Industry = eCommerce&lt;br /&gt;
| Official Website = https://shopee.com&lt;br /&gt;
| Logo = Shopee.png&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;[[Wikipedia:Shopee|Shopee Pte., Ltd.]]&#039;&#039;&#039;, commonly known as &#039;&#039;&#039;Shopee&#039;&#039;&#039;, is an e-commerce website, founded in 2015 in Singapore, operating primarily in southeast Asia and Latin America. Shopee operates under [[Sea Ltd]], which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the $SE ticker.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SE&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee serves as [[Amazon]] for the East outside of China, being named the largest e-commerce platform in southeast Asia, with almost half of the the region&#039;s $47.9 billion in total gross merchandise volume in 2023 being attributed to Shopee.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://momentum.asia/product/ecommerce-in-southeast-asia-2023/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee is known to engage in unethical behavior similar to Amazon. While Shopee does not sell the majority of its products directly and relies on a vast number of sellers to shape its online marketplace, the fact that unethical or illegal practices have been allowed to continue for years and are still present to this day without any intervention suggest that Shopee is complicit in misleading customers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Review Manipulation ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Incentivizing Users to Post 5-Star Reviews Before Using or Even Unboxing a Product ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Removal of Unfavorable Reviews ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Product and Review Stacking ===&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee enables review fraud and manipulation further by allowing multiple variants of a product to be listed under one product listing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This is obviously intended for use cases such as:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# Same base product with different colors as variants (e.g. Clothes, home appliances)&lt;br /&gt;
# Same base product with different sizes as variants (e.g. Phone cases)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== Stacking Used and New Products ====&lt;br /&gt;
But unethical sellers often group used and new products together, so that the lower price shows up on search results (See the given screenshot on Alienware AW3225QF).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the given example:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* The customer is able to see RM4,690 (1,040 USD) as the listed price of the Alienware AW3225QF monitor on search results and the seller&#039;s storefront.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee_product_stacking_misleading_pricing.png|thumb|Shopee product stacking and review stacking by listing multiple variants under 1 product listing.]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* Upon clicking on the product, the customer will discover that the displayed price of RM4,690 is actually for a refurbished product.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://shopee.com.my/Alienware-AW3225QF-32-4K-QD-OLED-Gaming-Monitor-240Hz-(OC)-Refresh-Rate-0.03-ms-Response-Rate-with-Free-Shipping-i.64728735.25162663808&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* The real cost to buy the product new is actually RM5,170 (1,147 USD).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== Stacking Completely Different Products ====&lt;br /&gt;
Some sellers also outright group different, unrelated products together under one listing to stack reviews. (See the screenshot on Dell UltraSharp U4025QW)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the given example:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* The customer searches for a &amp;quot;Dell U4025QW&amp;quot; and sees one listed for RM7,000 (1,553 USD) in search results.&lt;br /&gt;
* Upon clicking on the product, the customer will discover that the displayed price is actually for a refurbished Dell U4021QW (a different, older product that is refurbished).&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://shopee.com.my/Dell-UltraSharp-U4025QW-U4021QW-5K-Curved-Thunderbolt-Hub-WUHD-Monitor-with-IPS-Black-Panel-Free-Shipping-i.64728735.6081544385&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* And the real cost to buy the Dell U4025QW new is actually RM9,740 (2,161 USD).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Product Hijacking ===&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee enables its sellers to completely change a listed product in title, description and images, while retaining reviews of the originally listed product. This allows sellers to boost newly launched products which would not yet have any buyers, to have glowing 5-star reviews off the bat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Forced App Download Experience ==&lt;br /&gt;
Ecommerce giant Shopee which has a stronghold in online retail in South East Asia and Latin America has integrated a soft [[Forced App Download Experience|forced app download experience]] to their customer experience since 2022 through coupon use restrictions.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While it is still possible to browse, shop and checkout on a web browser, coupons usable on the web experience (regardless if mobile or desktop device) are limited to &amp;quot;Shipping Discount&amp;quot; coupons only. All other shopping coupons &amp;quot;Discount &amp;amp; Cashback&amp;quot; are only usable with Shopee&#039;s apps on iOS and Android.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When a customer attempts to check out on a web browser, Shopee shows that Discount &amp;amp; Cashback coupons are not usable because &amp;quot;Current device does not meet voucher T&amp;amp;C&amp;quot;. On closer inspection of the terms and conditions of those coupons, Shopee specifies &amp;quot;Device: iOS, Android&amp;quot;. What they are referring to is you must download and use their mobile apps for those operating systems in order to use most of their coupons. As pictured, the coupons are still not available on iOS and Android devices if the customer is using their web browser. They MUST download the Shopee app.&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee restricts coupon usage to app only.png|thumb|LEFT: Shopee limits customers to using &amp;quot;Shipping Discount&amp;quot; coupons only if checking out on a web browser (desktop and mobile).MIDDLE: All other shopping coupons &amp;quot;Discount &amp;amp; Cashback&amp;quot; are only usable with Shopee&#039;s apps on iOS and Android.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
RIGHT: Closer inspection of the terms and conditions where Shopee specifies a device requirement for using many of their coupons.When Shopee specifies &amp;quot;Device: iOS, Android&amp;quot;, they mean customers must download and use their mobile apps for those operating systems in order to use most of their coupons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Using a web browser on iOS and Android does not count and coupons in question remain disabled in this scenario.]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee product stacking different product.png|thumb|Shopee product stacking with seller listing unrelated products as variants under 1 product listing.]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Misleading Advertising ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Misleading Coupon Codes ===&lt;br /&gt;
Displaying large discounts but with usage limits create a false sense of a good deal. Their most common misleading coupon is &amp;quot;-75% OFF! Max $1 discount&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The first pictured example shows a misleading coupon code from Shopee Malaysia (though Shopee also does this throughout the regions in which it operates) with &amp;quot;30% off&amp;quot; but multiple usage terms: &amp;quot;Capped at RM9&amp;quot; (USD 2) but &amp;quot;Minimum spend RM20&amp;quot; (USD 4.50).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This effectively means the customer has to buy within a range of RM20-RM30 in order for the coupon&#039;s advertised 30% off to be true. Past RM30 where the RM9 cap amount is hit, the coupon no longer provides 30% off (i.e. the customer can keep increasing the amount purchased, but the discount is capped at a fixed price, meaning the percentage discount drops below the advertised 30% number).&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee voucher with cap2.png|thumb|Another misleading coupon from Shopee with &amp;quot;80% off&amp;quot; but &amp;quot;capped at RM5&amp;quot; (USD 1.10). The cap is reached with a purchase amount of RM6.25 (USD 1.40).]]&lt;br /&gt;
The second pictured example shows another misleading coupon from Shopee with &amp;quot;80% off&amp;quot; but &amp;quot;capped at RM5&amp;quot; (USD 1.10). The cap is reached with a purchase amount of RM6.25 (USD 1.40).&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee voucher with cap.png|thumb|Misleading coupon code with &amp;quot;30% off&amp;quot; but &amp;quot;Capped at RM9&amp;quot; (USD 2) but &amp;quot;Minimum spend RM20&amp;quot; (USD 4.50). This forces the customer to spend only within the range of RM20-RM30 in order for the coupon&#039;s advertised 30% off to be true. Past RM30 where the RM9 cap amount is hit, the coupon no longer provides 30% off.]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== False Low Pricing ===&lt;br /&gt;
Since one product listing can have multiple &amp;quot;variants&amp;quot;, sellers often will list a refurbished and/or completely different product with a low price as a variant so that the lower price appears on the search.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Fraudulent Products and/or Advertising ==&lt;br /&gt;
A lot of fake products (2TB SD cards selling at 1/5th what their price is supposed to be, obviously spoofed capacity like those sold on Amazon too) and fake claims (&amp;quot;Magnetic&amp;quot; screen protectors for tablets which come with no magnetic properties and tear-off strips for adhesive)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Deterring Returns and Exchanges ==&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee and its sellers operate under the very South East Asian low trust principle which assumes the customer is always lying. The default way to handle returns and exchanges is to always ask for the original product back.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This makes it challenging for returning products that are low priced but bulky (e.g. clothes drying rack) and/or require assembly (e.g. cheap Chinese furniture, which make up the bulk of furniture across Shopee&#039;s regional websites).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Gating Content Behind a Login Wall ==&lt;br /&gt;
From time to time, when landing on Shopee&#039;s website (either direct or via search results), users will be redirected to the login page and are prevented from browsing products.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
No doubt this is a feature still being A/B tested. There are several advantages for Shopee doing this, such as being able to link browsing behavior directly to users and making it difficult to compare prices without an account.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== References ==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Companies]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Services]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Online Services Companies]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Shopee_voucher_with_cap2.png&amp;diff=3696</id>
		<title>File:Shopee voucher with cap2.png</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Shopee_voucher_with_cap2.png&amp;diff=3696"/>
		<updated>2025-01-21T02:48:30Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Another misleading coupon from Shopee with &amp;quot;80% off&amp;quot; but &amp;quot;capped at RM5&amp;quot; (USD 1.10). The cap is reached with a purchase amount of RM6.25 (USD 1.40).&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Shopee&amp;diff=3694</id>
		<title>Shopee</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Shopee&amp;diff=3694"/>
		<updated>2025-01-21T02:42:46Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: Added Shopee&amp;#039;s forced app download experience behavior&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
{{InfoboxCompany&lt;br /&gt;
| Name = Shopee&lt;br /&gt;
| Founded = 2015&lt;br /&gt;
| Industry = eCommerce&lt;br /&gt;
| Official Website = https://shopee.com&lt;br /&gt;
| Logo = Shopee.png&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;[[Wikipedia:Shopee|Shopee Pte., Ltd.]]&#039;&#039;&#039;, commonly known as &#039;&#039;&#039;Shopee&#039;&#039;&#039;, is an e-commerce website, founded in 2015 in Singapore, operating primarily in southeast Asia and Latin America. Shopee operates under [[Sea Ltd]], which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the $SE ticker.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SE&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee serves as [[Amazon]] for the East outside of China, being named the largest e-commerce platform in southeast Asia, with almost half of the the region&#039;s $47.9 billion in total gross merchandise volume in 2023 being attributed to Shopee.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://momentum.asia/product/ecommerce-in-southeast-asia-2023/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee is known to engage in unethical behavior similar to Amazon. While Shopee does not sell the majority of its products directly and relies on a vast number of sellers to shape its online marketplace, the fact that unethical or illegal practices have been allowed to continue for years and are still present to this day without any intervention suggest that Shopee is complicit in misleading customers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Review Manipulation ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Incentivizing Users to Post 5-Star Reviews Before Using or Even Unboxing a Product ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Removal of Unfavorable Reviews ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Product and Review Stacking ===&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee enables review fraud and manipulation further by allowing multiple variants of a product to be listed under one product listing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This is obviously intended for use cases such as:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# Same base product with different colors as variants (e.g. Clothes, home appliances)&lt;br /&gt;
# Same base product with different sizes as variants (e.g. Phone cases)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== Stacking Used and New Products ====&lt;br /&gt;
But unethical sellers often group used and new products together, so that the lower price shows up on search results (See the given screenshot on Alienware AW3225QF).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the given example:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* The customer is able to see RM4,690 (1,040 USD) as the listed price of the Alienware AW3225QF monitor on search results and the seller&#039;s storefront.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee_product_stacking_misleading_pricing.png|thumb|Shopee product stacking and review stacking by listing multiple variants under 1 product listing.]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* Upon clicking on the product, the customer will discover that the displayed price of RM4,690 is actually for a refurbished product.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://shopee.com.my/Alienware-AW3225QF-32-4K-QD-OLED-Gaming-Monitor-240Hz-(OC)-Refresh-Rate-0.03-ms-Response-Rate-with-Free-Shipping-i.64728735.25162663808&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* The real cost to buy the product new is actually RM5,170 (1,147 USD).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== Stacking Completely Different Products ====&lt;br /&gt;
Some sellers also outright group different, unrelated products together under one listing to stack reviews. (See the screenshot on Dell UltraSharp U4025QW)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the given example:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* The customer searches for a &amp;quot;Dell U4025QW&amp;quot; and sees one listed for RM7,000 (1,553 USD) in search results.&lt;br /&gt;
* Upon clicking on the product, the customer will discover that the displayed price is actually for a refurbished Dell U4021QW (a different, older product that is refurbished).&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://shopee.com.my/Dell-UltraSharp-U4025QW-U4021QW-5K-Curved-Thunderbolt-Hub-WUHD-Monitor-with-IPS-Black-Panel-Free-Shipping-i.64728735.6081544385&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* And the real cost to buy the Dell U4025QW new is actually RM9,740 (2,161 USD).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Product Hijacking ===&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee enables its sellers to completely change a listed product in title, description and images, while retaining reviews of the originally listed product. This allows sellers to boost newly launched products which would not yet have any buyers, to have glowing 5-star reviews off the bat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Forced App Download Experience ==&lt;br /&gt;
Ecommerce giant Shopee which has a stronghold in online retail in South East Asia and Latin America has integrated a soft [[Forced App Download Experience|forced app download experience]] to their customer experience since 2022 through coupon use restrictions.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While it is still possible to browse, shop and checkout on a web browser, coupons usable on the web experience (regardless if mobile or desktop device) are limited to &amp;quot;Shipping Discount&amp;quot; coupons only. All other shopping coupons &amp;quot;Discount &amp;amp; Cashback&amp;quot; are only usable with Shopee&#039;s apps on iOS and Android.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When a customer attempts to check out on a web browser, Shopee shows that Discount &amp;amp; Cashback coupons are not usable because &amp;quot;Current device does not meet voucher T&amp;amp;C&amp;quot;. On closer inspection of the terms and conditions of those coupons, Shopee specifies &amp;quot;Device: iOS, Android&amp;quot;. What they are referring to is you must download and use their mobile apps for those operating systems in order to use most of their coupons. As pictured, the coupons are still not available on iOS and Android devices if the customer is using their web browser. They MUST download the Shopee app.&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee restricts coupon usage to app only.png|thumb|LEFT: Shopee limits customers to using &amp;quot;Shipping Discount&amp;quot; coupons only if checking out on a web browser (desktop and mobile).MIDDLE: All other shopping coupons &amp;quot;Discount &amp;amp; Cashback&amp;quot; are only usable with Shopee&#039;s apps on iOS and Android.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
RIGHT: Closer inspection of the terms and conditions where Shopee specifies a device requirement for using many of their coupons.When Shopee specifies &amp;quot;Device: iOS, Android&amp;quot;, they mean customers must download and use their mobile apps for those operating systems in order to use most of their coupons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Using a web browser on iOS and Android does not count and coupons in question remain disabled in this scenario.]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee product stacking different product.png|thumb|Shopee product stacking with seller listing unrelated products as variants under 1 product listing.]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Misleading Advertising ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Misleading Coupon Codes ===&lt;br /&gt;
Displaying large discounts but with usage limits create a false sense of a good deal. Their most common misleading coupon is &amp;quot;-75% OFF! Max $1 discount&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The pictured example shows a misleading coupon code from Shopee Malaysia (though Shopee also does this throughout the regions in which it operates) with &amp;quot;30% off&amp;quot; but multiple usage terms: &amp;quot;Capped at RM9&amp;quot; (USD 2) but &amp;quot;Minimum spend RM20&amp;quot; (USD 4.50).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This effectively means the customer has to buy within a range of RM20-RM30 in order for the coupon&#039;s advertised 30% off to be true. Past RM30 where the RM9 cap amount is hit, the coupon no longer provides 30% off (i.e. the customer can keep increasing the amount purchased, but the discount is capped at a fixed price, meaning the percentage discount drops below the advertised 30% number).&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee voucher with cap.png|thumb|Misleading coupon code with &amp;quot;30% off&amp;quot; but &amp;quot;Capped at RM9&amp;quot; (USD 2) but &amp;quot;Minimum spend RM20&amp;quot; (USD 4.50). This forces the customer to spend only within the range of RM20-RM30 in order for the coupon&#039;s advertised 30% off to be true. Past RM30 where the RM9 cap amount is hit, the coupon no longer provides 30% off.]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== False Low Pricing ===&lt;br /&gt;
Since one product listing can have multiple &amp;quot;variants&amp;quot;, sellers often will list a refurbished and/or completely different product with a low price as a variant so that the lower price appears on the search.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Fraudulent Products and/or Advertising ==&lt;br /&gt;
A lot of fake products (2TB SD cards selling at 1/5th what their price is supposed to be, obviously spoofed capacity like those sold on Amazon too) and fake claims (&amp;quot;Magnetic&amp;quot; screen protectors for tablets which come with no magnetic properties and tear-off strips for adhesive)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Deterring Returns and Exchanges ==&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee and its sellers operate under the very South East Asian low trust principle which assumes the customer is always lying. The default way to handle returns and exchanges is to always ask for the original product back.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This makes it challenging for returning products that are low priced but bulky (e.g. clothes drying rack) and/or require assembly (e.g. cheap Chinese furniture, which make up the bulk of furniture across Shopee&#039;s regional websites).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Gating Content Behind a Login Wall ==&lt;br /&gt;
From time to time, when landing on Shopee&#039;s website (either direct or via search results), users will be redirected to the login page and are prevented from browsing products.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
No doubt this is a feature still being A/B tested. There are several advantages for Shopee doing this, such as being able to link browsing behavior directly to users and making it difficult to compare prices without an account.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== References ==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Companies]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Services]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Online Services Companies]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Forced_app_download&amp;diff=3693</id>
		<title>Forced app download</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Forced_app_download&amp;diff=3693"/>
		<updated>2025-01-21T02:39:46Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: Added citation for Luckin Coffee pushing the forced app download experience&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{incomplete}}&lt;br /&gt;
Forced app download experience is an experience where the user is forced by a business or government entity to download an app to their phone to perform basic tasks that could have otherwise been done on a standard web browser&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9380491 D. Tian, Y. Ma, A. Balasubramanian, Y. Liu, G. Huang and X. Liu, &amp;quot;Characterizing Embedded Web Browsing in Mobile Apps,&amp;quot; in IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, vol. 21, no. 11, pp. 3912-3925, 1 Nov. 2022, doi: 10.1109/TMC.2021.3065945.]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; (e.g. adding a credit card for payments) or in real life (e.g. ordering a coffee).&amp;lt;!-- Although this is a theme article, and therefore has more relaxed editorial guidelines, i&#039;m going to put a &#039;needs more verification&#039; notice on this page to encourage the use of more citations. Have also put some comments throughout to highlight tonal issues/any questions I have. Very solid start on the whole though!&lt;br /&gt;
-Keith --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The forced app download experience is becoming increasingly popular in many countries pushing digitization. A prime example is Singapore whose government is all-in on digital everything, where it is impossible for anyone to have a bank account without using the bank&#039;s app and everyone must have a device that runs stock iOS or Android in order to download various government and business apps from their respective official app stores. Devices must also be running stock operating systems since most government and business apps conduct intrusive checks and require extensive technical knowledge&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/8330-app-compatibility-with-grapheneos&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://github.com/chiteroman/PlayIntegrityFix&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; to run if a device is jailbroken or rooted.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Most companies&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://cybernews.com/news/facebook-spying-snapchat-youtube-amazon-installing-kits/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; (and likely most governments&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://lunduke.substack.com/p/the-pokemon-go-spying-conspiracy&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; too) would love for this to happen in more countries across the globe because the forced app download experience allows for:&amp;lt;!-- tone needs to be a little calmer here. Still persuasive, but calmer. --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Identification and tracking of users&#039;&#039;&#039;  - not just on an account level and payments, but through deep device identifiers, location, and network connection&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Push of the cashless agenda&#039;&#039;&#039; - digital-only payments typically go hand-in-hand with app-only experiences&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Increased digital integration&#039;&#039;&#039; - endless possibilities of integrating and sharing data with payment processors, ad providers,&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Increased centralization and dependency on big companies&#039;&#039;&#039; - putting more power in the hands of big tech (Apple and Google) with mandatory official app store downloads and big payments (Visa and MasterCard) with forced digital payments&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Characteristics ==&lt;br /&gt;
The forced app download experience involves:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Forcing download and use of app to interact with a business&#039;&#039;&#039; - Basic tasks like ordering, making payments, changing settings.&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Deliberately crippling or removing functionality from the web experience&#039;&#039;&#039; - Prevent users from having an alternative interface to perform basic tasks.&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Forcing users to always be on the latest version of an app&#039;&#039;&#039; - &amp;quot;For your security&amp;quot; (as they usually claim), most of these apps will constantly check for the latest version and self-disable if they are older than X versions (varies by company)&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Mandatory use of account&#039;&#039;&#039; - For most of these apps to work, you must have an account for features to work. For example, with the Luckin Coffee app, you must create an account tied to your phone number. You cannot order as a guest&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Key implications ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== User tracking and intrusion of privacy ===&lt;br /&gt;
The hallmarks of the forced app download experience are mandatory account creation and usage, and digital payments. This allows tracking of the user not just by the company behind the app, but the payment provider and any other associated third-party partners.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Mandatory use of &amp;quot;approved devices&amp;quot; and big tech operating systems ===&lt;br /&gt;
Most apps are only available for download on official from official app stores, meaning consumers must use a device running stock iOS or Android, or else jump through hoops to run them&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Android#Run_Android_apps_on_Arch_Linux&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://stackoverflow.com/a/18003462&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Devices must also be running stock operating systems since most government and business apps conduct intrusive checks&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://developer.android.com/google/play/integrity/setup#default&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and will not run if a device is jailbroken or rooted.&amp;lt;!-- How prevalent is this outside singapore? also seems like a direct restatement of what was said earlier --&amp;gt;&amp;lt;!-- The following block should include info about common apps that integrate these invasive measures. --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Some companies such as big banks in Singapore have also started incorporating checks for &amp;quot;unverified apps&amp;quot; in their app. This means their app will scan your phone and check for sideloaded apps (anywhere that is not the official app store. For example, an app downloaded directly from APK Mirror or an unofficial app repository like F-Droid) as part of &amp;quot;anti-scam security measures that include restricting customers from accessing the banks’ digital services on their mobile phones if apps from unverified app stores – also known as sideloaded apps – are detected&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/dbs-uob-anti-scam-sideloaded-app-malware-measure-latest-bank-restrict-app-access-3796806&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Surge pricing ===&lt;br /&gt;
So far, the implementation of surge pricing in the context of businesses that have the forced app download experience has not yet been seen. However, trust that the enterprising individuals and ecommerce platform providers (especially &amp;quot;modern headless ecommerce&amp;quot; companies&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.forrester.com/blogs/doing-selling-and-being-headless-commerce/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;) looking to maximize clean out of consumers&#039; wallets will quickly develop and deploy surge pricing once businesses with forced app download experiences gain sufficient footing both in their respective industries and in general market penetration.&amp;lt;!-- rather than making this assertion, maybe try and find come companies who have proposed/patented systems to this end? Also tone gets a bit strong here --&amp;gt;&amp;lt;!-- I&#039;ll come back later and finish this up once I have more time to look at relevant examples. --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Since ordering and payments are entirely digital, it is very possible to see surge pricing (similar to what we&#039;ve seen from ride hailing companies like Uber, Lyft and Grab) implemented across other industries.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For example, a restaurant that is popular enough could implement surge pricing to charge more during peak hours, like weekday lunch time to hit the downtime office crowd that is lacking in time and places to eat, or Friday night when many people are looking to go out.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Third-party integration ===&lt;br /&gt;
Just like how some car insurance providers in the US are adjusting their rates based on &amp;quot;smart&amp;quot; reporting from cars, it is also very possible for other intrusive and oppressive pair ups to happen. For example:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* Restaurants, cafes and bars with forced app download experiences sharing data with health insurance companies, who increase your premium if they see a lifestyle/pattern of ordering unhealthy dishes or overly large portions, or frequenting that bubble tea shop too often.&lt;br /&gt;
* Government tax agency charging you &amp;quot;excess carbon footprint&amp;quot; taxes because you often order a lot of clothes beyond the number that the &amp;quot;Average&amp;quot; person of your profile wears, based on what your favorite fast fashion retailer with a forced app download experience is sharing with them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:No unverified apps.png|thumb|Singapore banks will &amp;quot;restrict access if unverified apps AKA sideloaded apps are found on customers&#039; phones&amp;quot; (News story from Sep 2023)]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Examples ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Banking and finance ===&lt;br /&gt;
All banks in Singapore (Citi, DBS, UOB, OCBC, Standard Chartered, CIMB) mandate use of their apps for consumers to perform any online banking activities, including logging in via their web browser.&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Forced app download.png|thumb|Luckin Coffee, a China-origin Starbucks competitor, forces you to download their app to order and pay for coffee. You cannot order coffee at the cashier in their store, let alone pay. You must use the app to interact with this business and digital payments to pay.]]&lt;br /&gt;
The apps generate notifications that require users to approve/deny actions like logging in via a web browser, initiating a payment, adding a payee, etc via the app itself. Some banks previously offered sending an OTP via SMS (text) as an alternative to app-based approval but this has since been discontinued for &amp;quot;security reasons&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Utilities and public services ===&lt;br /&gt;
SP Group is Singapore&#039;s primary and default electricity provider, as well as the country&#039;s only provider for gas and water for consumers. In 2022, SP Group removed the ability to manage payments from their website, forcing users to download and use their mobile app to pay bills/manage recurring payments&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.spdigital.sg/spapp/bill-payment&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As they are the country&#039;s only provider for gas and water, everyone in Singapore MUST download their app at some point.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Retail and ecommerce ===&lt;br /&gt;
Ecommerce giant [[Shopee]] which has a stronghold in online retail in South East Asia and Latin America has integrated a soft forced app download experience to their customer experience.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While it is still possible to browse, shop and checkout on a web browser, coupons usable on the web experience (regardless if mobile or desktop device) are limited to &amp;quot;Shipping Discount&amp;quot; coupons only. All other shopping coupons &amp;quot;Discount &amp;amp; Cashback&amp;quot; are only usable with Shopee&#039;s apps on iOS and Android.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When a customer attempts to check out on a web browser, Shopee shows that Discount &amp;amp; Cashback coupons are not usable because &amp;quot;Current device does not meet voucher T&amp;amp;C&amp;quot;. On closer inspection of the terms and conditions of those coupons, Shopee specifies &amp;quot;Device: iOS, Android&amp;quot;. What they are referring to is you must download and use their mobile apps for those operating systems in order to use most of their coupons. As pictured, the coupons are still not available on iOS and Android devices if the customer is using their web browser. They MUST download the Shopee app.&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee restricts coupon usage to app only.png|thumb|LEFT: Shopee limits customers to using &amp;quot;Shipping Discount&amp;quot; coupons only if checking out on a web browser (desktop and mobile).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MIDDLE: All other shopping coupons &amp;quot;Discount &amp;amp; Cashback&amp;quot; are only usable with Shopee&#039;s apps on iOS and Android.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
RIGHT: Closer inspection of the terms and conditions where Shopee specifies a device requirement for using many of their coupons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When Shopee specifies &amp;quot;Device: iOS, Android&amp;quot;, they mean customers must download and use their mobile apps for those operating systems in order to use most of their coupons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Using a web browser on iOS and Android does not count and coupons in question remain disabled in this scenario.]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee coupon still unusable on mobile web.jpg|thumb|Using a web browser on iOS and Android does not count and coupons with the device requirement remain disabled. What Shopee means by &amp;quot;Device: iOS, Android&amp;quot; in their coupons&#039; terms and conditions is that customers MUST download and use the Shopee app for those coupons to be usable.]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Food and beverage ===&lt;br /&gt;
An increasing number of &#039;digital-native&#039; food businesses that are app-only are making their way onto the market. For example, Luckin Coffee, a Starbucks competitor of China origin with stores in Singapore and planned expansion into Malaysia and the US in 2025&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.worldcoffeeportal.com/Latest/News/2024/October/China-s-Luckin-Coffee-reportedly-planning-US-launc&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, only allows ordering of beverages and payments via its app. The way it works is you download the app, register an account, log in, order a coffee and pay for it, then pick it up at a Luckin Coffee location. &amp;quot;With Luckin, you do not order coffee over the counter like in regular Western coffee shops. Instead, you do everything online. I ordered my drinks here without even needing to talk to the Barista!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.clearlycoffee.com/review-signature-luckin-coffee-drinks-photos-creamy-dreamy-big-cheesy-coconut-latte/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
With a food and beverage business that is fully committed to the forced app download experience like Luckin Coffee, there is no way to order nor pay at the physical store. You &#039;&#039;&#039;must download and use the app&#039;&#039;&#039; to interact with the business.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Forced app download experience represents the next stage of evolution from QR code based ordering. The key differences are:&lt;br /&gt;
{| class=&amp;quot;wikitable&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
|+&lt;br /&gt;
!Characteristic&lt;br /&gt;
!Forced app download experience&lt;br /&gt;
!QR code based ordering&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|Interface&lt;br /&gt;
|App downloaded from official app store&lt;br /&gt;
|Page opened in your choice of web browser&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|Ordering&lt;br /&gt;
|Order MUST be placed via app&lt;br /&gt;
|QR is pushed but usually possible to order offline (in real life)&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|Login&lt;br /&gt;
|You MUST create an account and log in to place an order&lt;br /&gt;
|Not required, often no registration is possible&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|Payments&lt;br /&gt;
|Cashless digital payment only&lt;br /&gt;
Payment MUST be made via app&lt;br /&gt;
|Depending on website, sometimes order online, pay offline&lt;br /&gt;
Depending on business, cash payments are usually possible&lt;br /&gt;
|}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== References ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Common terms]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Forced_app_download&amp;diff=3692</id>
		<title>Forced app download</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Forced_app_download&amp;diff=3692"/>
		<updated>2025-01-21T02:36:07Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: Added retail and ecommerce section with Shopee example. Includes descriptive text and screenshot evidence of Forced App Download Experience in practice.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{incomplete}}&lt;br /&gt;
Forced app download experience is an experience where the user is forced by a business or government entity to download an app to their phone to perform basic tasks that could have otherwise been done on a standard web browser&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9380491 D. Tian, Y. Ma, A. Balasubramanian, Y. Liu, G. Huang and X. Liu, &amp;quot;Characterizing Embedded Web Browsing in Mobile Apps,&amp;quot; in IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, vol. 21, no. 11, pp. 3912-3925, 1 Nov. 2022, doi: 10.1109/TMC.2021.3065945.]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; (e.g. adding a credit card for payments) or in real life (e.g. ordering a coffee).&amp;lt;!-- Although this is a theme article, and therefore has more relaxed editorial guidelines, i&#039;m going to put a &#039;needs more verification&#039; notice on this page to encourage the use of more citations. Have also put some comments throughout to highlight tonal issues/any questions I have. Very solid start on the whole though!&lt;br /&gt;
-Keith --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The forced app download experience is becoming increasingly popular in many countries pushing digitization. A prime example is Singapore whose government is all-in on digital everything, where it is impossible for anyone to have a bank account without using the bank&#039;s app and everyone must have a device that runs stock iOS or Android in order to download various government and business apps from their respective official app stores. Devices must also be running stock operating systems since most government and business apps conduct intrusive checks and require extensive technical knowledge&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/8330-app-compatibility-with-grapheneos&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://github.com/chiteroman/PlayIntegrityFix&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; to run if a device is jailbroken or rooted.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Most companies&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://cybernews.com/news/facebook-spying-snapchat-youtube-amazon-installing-kits/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; (and likely most governments&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://lunduke.substack.com/p/the-pokemon-go-spying-conspiracy&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; too) would love for this to happen in more countries across the globe because the forced app download experience allows for:&amp;lt;!-- tone needs to be a little calmer here. Still persuasive, but calmer. --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Identification and tracking of users&#039;&#039;&#039;  - not just on an account level and payments, but through deep device identifiers, location, and network connection&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Push of the cashless agenda&#039;&#039;&#039; - digital-only payments typically go hand-in-hand with app-only experiences&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Increased digital integration&#039;&#039;&#039; - endless possibilities of integrating and sharing data with payment processors, ad providers,&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Increased centralization and dependency on big companies&#039;&#039;&#039; - putting more power in the hands of big tech (Apple and Google) with mandatory official app store downloads and big payments (Visa and MasterCard) with forced digital payments&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Characteristics ==&lt;br /&gt;
The forced app download experience involves:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Forcing download and use of app to interact with a business&#039;&#039;&#039; - Basic tasks like ordering, making payments, changing settings.&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Deliberately crippling or removing functionality from the web experience&#039;&#039;&#039; - Prevent users from having an alternative interface to perform basic tasks.&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Forcing users to always be on the latest version of an app&#039;&#039;&#039; - &amp;quot;For your security&amp;quot; (as they usually claim), most of these apps will constantly check for the latest version and self-disable if they are older than X versions (varies by company)&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Mandatory use of account&#039;&#039;&#039; - For most of these apps to work, you must have an account for features to work. For example, with the Luckin Coffee app, you must create an account tied to your phone number. You cannot order as a guest&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Key implications ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== User tracking and intrusion of privacy ===&lt;br /&gt;
The hallmarks of the forced app download experience are mandatory account creation and usage, and digital payments. This allows tracking of the user not just by the company behind the app, but the payment provider and any other associated third-party partners.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Mandatory use of &amp;quot;approved devices&amp;quot; and big tech operating systems ===&lt;br /&gt;
Most apps are only available for download on official from official app stores, meaning consumers must use a device running stock iOS or Android, or else jump through hoops to run them&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Android#Run_Android_apps_on_Arch_Linux&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://stackoverflow.com/a/18003462&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Devices must also be running stock operating systems since most government and business apps conduct intrusive checks&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://developer.android.com/google/play/integrity/setup#default&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and will not run if a device is jailbroken or rooted.&amp;lt;!-- How prevalent is this outside singapore? also seems like a direct restatement of what was said earlier --&amp;gt;&amp;lt;!-- The following block should include info about common apps that integrate these invasive measures. --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Some companies such as big banks in Singapore have also started incorporating checks for &amp;quot;unverified apps&amp;quot; in their app. This means their app will scan your phone and check for sideloaded apps (anywhere that is not the official app store. For example, an app downloaded directly from APK Mirror or an unofficial app repository like F-Droid) as part of &amp;quot;anti-scam security measures that include restricting customers from accessing the banks’ digital services on their mobile phones if apps from unverified app stores – also known as sideloaded apps – are detected&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/dbs-uob-anti-scam-sideloaded-app-malware-measure-latest-bank-restrict-app-access-3796806&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Surge pricing ===&lt;br /&gt;
So far, the implementation of surge pricing in the context of businesses that have the forced app download experience has not yet been seen. However, trust that the enterprising individuals and ecommerce platform providers (especially &amp;quot;modern headless ecommerce&amp;quot; companies&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.forrester.com/blogs/doing-selling-and-being-headless-commerce/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;) looking to maximize clean out of consumers&#039; wallets will quickly develop and deploy surge pricing once businesses with forced app download experiences gain sufficient footing both in their respective industries and in general market penetration.&amp;lt;!-- rather than making this assertion, maybe try and find come companies who have proposed/patented systems to this end? Also tone gets a bit strong here --&amp;gt;&amp;lt;!-- I&#039;ll come back later and finish this up once I have more time to look at relevant examples. --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Since ordering and payments are entirely digital, it is very possible to see surge pricing (similar to what we&#039;ve seen from ride hailing companies like Uber, Lyft and Grab) implemented across other industries.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For example, a restaurant that is popular enough could implement surge pricing to charge more during peak hours, like weekday lunch time to hit the downtime office crowd that is lacking in time and places to eat, or Friday night when many people are looking to go out.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Third-party integration ===&lt;br /&gt;
Just like how some car insurance providers in the US are adjusting their rates based on &amp;quot;smart&amp;quot; reporting from cars, it is also very possible for other intrusive and oppressive pair ups to happen. For example:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* Restaurants, cafes and bars with forced app download experiences sharing data with health insurance companies, who increase your premium if they see a lifestyle/pattern of ordering unhealthy dishes or overly large portions, or frequenting that bubble tea shop too often.&lt;br /&gt;
* Government tax agency charging you &amp;quot;excess carbon footprint&amp;quot; taxes because you often order a lot of clothes beyond the number that the &amp;quot;Average&amp;quot; person of your profile wears, based on what your favorite fast fashion retailer with a forced app download experience is sharing with them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:No unverified apps.png|thumb|Singapore banks will &amp;quot;restrict access if unverified apps AKA sideloaded apps are found on customers&#039; phones&amp;quot; (News story from Sep 2023)]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Examples ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Banking and finance ===&lt;br /&gt;
All banks in Singapore (Citi, DBS, UOB, OCBC, Standard Chartered, CIMB) mandate use of their apps for consumers to perform any online banking activities, including logging in via their web browser.&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Forced app download.png|thumb|Luckin Coffee, a China-origin Starbucks competitor, forces you to download their app to order and pay for coffee. You cannot order coffee at the cashier in their store, let alone pay. You must use the app to interact with this business and digital payments to pay.]]&lt;br /&gt;
The apps generate notifications that require users to approve/deny actions like logging in via a web browser, initiating a payment, adding a payee, etc via the app itself. Some banks previously offered sending an OTP via SMS (text) as an alternative to app-based approval but this has since been discontinued for &amp;quot;security reasons&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Utilities and public services ===&lt;br /&gt;
SP Group is Singapore&#039;s primary and default electricity provider, as well as the country&#039;s only provider for gas and water for consumers. In 2022, SP Group removed the ability to manage payments from their website, forcing users to download and use their mobile app to pay bills/manage recurring payments&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.spdigital.sg/spapp/bill-payment&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As they are the country&#039;s only provider for gas and water, everyone in Singapore MUST download their app at some point.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Retail and ecommerce ===&lt;br /&gt;
Ecommerce giant [[Shopee]] which has a stronghold in online retail in South East Asia and Latin America has integrated a soft forced app download experience to their customer experience.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While it is still possible to browse, shop and checkout on a web browser, coupons usable on the web experience (regardless if mobile or desktop device) are limited to &amp;quot;Shipping Discount&amp;quot; coupons only. All other shopping coupons &amp;quot;Discount &amp;amp; Cashback&amp;quot; are only usable with Shopee&#039;s apps on iOS and Android.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When a customer attempts to check out on a web browser, Shopee shows that Discount &amp;amp; Cashback coupons are not usable because &amp;quot;Current device does not meet voucher T&amp;amp;C&amp;quot;. On closer inspection of the terms and conditions of those coupons, Shopee specifies &amp;quot;Device: iOS, Android&amp;quot;. What they are referring to is you must download and use their mobile apps for those operating systems in order to use most of their coupons. As pictured, the coupons are still not available on iOS and Android devices if the customer is using their web browser. They MUST download the Shopee app.&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee restricts coupon usage to app only.png|thumb|LEFT: Shopee limits customers to using &amp;quot;Shipping Discount&amp;quot; coupons only if checking out on a web browser (desktop and mobile).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MIDDLE: All other shopping coupons &amp;quot;Discount &amp;amp; Cashback&amp;quot; are only usable with Shopee&#039;s apps on iOS and Android.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
RIGHT: Closer inspection of the terms and conditions where Shopee specifies a device requirement for using many of their coupons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When Shopee specifies &amp;quot;Device: iOS, Android&amp;quot;, they mean customers must download and use their mobile apps for those operating systems in order to use most of their coupons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Using a web browser on iOS and Android does not count and coupons in question remain disabled in this scenario.]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee coupon still unusable on mobile web.jpg|thumb|Using a web browser on iOS and Android does not count and coupons with the device requirement remain disabled. What Shopee means by &amp;quot;Device: iOS, Android&amp;quot; in their coupons&#039; terms and conditions is that customers MUST download and use the Shopee app for those coupons to be usable.]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Food and beverage ===&lt;br /&gt;
An increasing number of &#039;digital-native&#039; food businesses that are app-only are making their way onto the market. For example, Luckin Coffee, a Starbucks competitor of China origin with stores in Singapore and planned expansion into Malaysia and the US in 2025&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.worldcoffeeportal.com/Latest/News/2024/October/China-s-Luckin-Coffee-reportedly-planning-US-launc&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, only allows ordering of beverages and payments via its app. The way it works is you download the app, register an account, log in, order a coffee and pay for it, then pick it up at a Luckin Coffee location.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
With a food and beverage business that is fully committed to the forced app download experience like Luckin Coffee, there is no way to order nor pay at the physical store. You &#039;&#039;&#039;must download and use the app&#039;&#039;&#039; to interact with the business.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Forced app download experience represents the next stage of evolution from QR code based ordering. The key differences are:&lt;br /&gt;
{| class=&amp;quot;wikitable&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
|+&lt;br /&gt;
!Characteristic&lt;br /&gt;
!Forced app download experience&lt;br /&gt;
!QR code based ordering&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|Interface&lt;br /&gt;
|App downloaded from official app store&lt;br /&gt;
|Page opened in your choice of web browser&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|Ordering&lt;br /&gt;
|Order MUST be placed via app&lt;br /&gt;
|QR is pushed but usually possible to order offline (in real life)&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|Login&lt;br /&gt;
|You MUST create an account and log in to place an order&lt;br /&gt;
|Not required, often no registration is possible&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|Payments&lt;br /&gt;
|Cashless digital payment only&lt;br /&gt;
Payment MUST be made via app&lt;br /&gt;
|Depending on website, sometimes order online, pay offline&lt;br /&gt;
Depending on business, cash payments are usually possible&lt;br /&gt;
|}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== References ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Common terms]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Shopee_coupon_still_unusable_on_mobile_web.jpg&amp;diff=3691</id>
		<title>File:Shopee coupon still unusable on mobile web.jpg</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Shopee_coupon_still_unusable_on_mobile_web.jpg&amp;diff=3691"/>
		<updated>2025-01-21T02:35:19Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Using a web browser on iOS and Android does not count and coupons with the device requirement remain disabled. What Shopee means by &amp;quot;Device: iOS, Android&amp;quot; in their coupons&#039; terms and conditions is that customers MUST download and use the Shopee app for those coupons to be usable.&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Shopee_restricts_coupon_usage_to_app_only.png&amp;diff=3689</id>
		<title>File:Shopee restricts coupon usage to app only.png</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Shopee_restricts_coupon_usage_to_app_only.png&amp;diff=3689"/>
		<updated>2025-01-21T02:32:26Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;LEFT: Shopee limits customers to using &amp;quot;Shipping Discount&amp;quot; coupons only if checking out on a web browser (desktop and mobile).&lt;br /&gt;
MIDDLE: All other shopping coupons &amp;quot;Discount &amp;amp; Cashback&amp;quot; are only usable with Shopee&#039;s apps on iOS and Android.&lt;br /&gt;
RIGHT: Closer inspection of the terms and conditions where Shopee specifies a device requirement for using many of their coupons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When Shopee specifies &amp;quot;Device: iOS, Android&amp;quot;, they mean customers must download and use their mobile apps for those operating systems in order to use most of their coupons.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Using a web browser on iOS and Android does not count and coupons in question remain disabled in this scenario.&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Shopee&amp;diff=3685</id>
		<title>Shopee</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Shopee&amp;diff=3685"/>
		<updated>2025-01-21T02:04:18Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: Added example misleading coupon code/Misleading Advertising screenshot and description&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
{{InfoboxCompany&lt;br /&gt;
| Name = Shopee&lt;br /&gt;
| Founded = 2015&lt;br /&gt;
| Industry = eCommerce&lt;br /&gt;
| Official Website = https://shopee.com&lt;br /&gt;
| Logo = Shopee.png&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;[[Wikipedia:Shopee|Shopee Pte., Ltd.]]&#039;&#039;&#039;, commonly known as &#039;&#039;&#039;Shopee&#039;&#039;&#039;, is an e-commerce website, founded in 2015 in Singapore, operating primarily in southeast Asia and Latin America. Shopee operates under [[Sea Ltd]], which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the $SE ticker.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SE&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee serves as [[Amazon]] for the East outside of China, being named the largest e-commerce platform in southeast Asia, with almost half of the the region&#039;s $47.9 billion in total gross merchandise volume in 2023 being attributed to Shopee.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://momentum.asia/product/ecommerce-in-southeast-asia-2023/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee is known to engage in unethical behavior similar to Amazon. While Shopee does not sell the majority of its products directly and relies on a vast number of sellers to shape its online marketplace, the fact that unethical or illegal practices have been allowed to continue for years and are still present to this day without any intervention suggest that Shopee is complicit in misleading customers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Review Manipulation ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Incentivizing Users to Post 5-Star Reviews Before Using or Even Unboxing a Product ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Removal of Unfavorable Reviews ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Product and Review Stacking ===&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee enables review fraud and manipulation further by allowing multiple variants of a product to be listed under one product listing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This is obviously intended for use cases such as:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# Same base product with different colors as variants (e.g. Clothes, home appliances)&lt;br /&gt;
# Same base product with different sizes as variants (e.g. Phone cases)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== Stacking Used and New Products ====&lt;br /&gt;
But unethical sellers often group used and new products together, so that the lower price shows up on search results (See the given screenshot on Alienware AW3225QF).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the given example:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* The customer is able to see RM4,690 (1,040 USD) as the listed price of the Alienware AW3225QF monitor on search results and the seller&#039;s storefront.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee_product_stacking_misleading_pricing.png|thumb|Shopee product stacking and review stacking by listing multiple variants under 1 product listing.]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* Upon clicking on the product, the customer will discover that the displayed price of RM4,690 is actually for a refurbished product.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://shopee.com.my/Alienware-AW3225QF-32-4K-QD-OLED-Gaming-Monitor-240Hz-(OC)-Refresh-Rate-0.03-ms-Response-Rate-with-Free-Shipping-i.64728735.25162663808&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* The real cost to buy the product new is actually RM5,170 (1,147 USD).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== Stacking Completely Different Products ====&lt;br /&gt;
Some sellers also outright group different, unrelated products together under one listing to stack reviews. (See the screenshot on Dell UltraSharp U4025QW)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the given example:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* The customer searches for a &amp;quot;Dell U4025QW&amp;quot; and sees one listed for RM7,000 (1,553 USD) in search results.&lt;br /&gt;
* Upon clicking on the product, the customer will discover that the displayed price is actually for a refurbished Dell U4021QW (a different, older product that is refurbished).&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://shopee.com.my/Dell-UltraSharp-U4025QW-U4021QW-5K-Curved-Thunderbolt-Hub-WUHD-Monitor-with-IPS-Black-Panel-Free-Shipping-i.64728735.6081544385&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* And the real cost to buy the Dell U4025QW new is actually RM9,740 (2,161 USD).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Product Hijacking ===&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee enables its sellers to completely change a listed product in title, description and images, while retaining reviews of the originally listed product. This allows sellers to boost newly launched products which would not yet have any buyers, to have glowing 5-star reviews off the bat.&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee product stacking different product.png|thumb|Shopee product stacking with seller listing unrelated products as variants under 1 product listing.]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Misleading Advertising ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Misleading Coupon Codes ===&lt;br /&gt;
Displaying large discounts but with usage limits create a false sense of a good deal. Their most common misleading coupon is &amp;quot;-75% OFF! Max $1 discount&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The pictured example shows a misleading coupon code from Shopee Malaysia (though Shopee also does this throughout the regions in which it operates) with &amp;quot;30% off&amp;quot; but multiple usage terms: &amp;quot;Capped at RM9&amp;quot; (USD 2) but &amp;quot;Minimum spend RM20&amp;quot; (USD 4.50).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This effectively means the customer has to buy within a range of RM20-RM30 in order for the coupon&#039;s advertised 30% off to be true. Past RM30 where the RM9 cap amount is hit, the coupon no longer provides 30% off (i.e. the customer can keep increasing the amount purchased, but the discount is capped at a fixed price, meaning the percentage discount drops below the advertised 30% number).&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee voucher with cap.png|thumb|Misleading coupon code with &amp;quot;30% off&amp;quot; but &amp;quot;Capped at RM9&amp;quot; (USD 2) but &amp;quot;Minimum spend RM20&amp;quot; (USD 4.50). This forces the customer to spend only within the range of RM20-RM30 in order for the coupon&#039;s advertised 30% off to be true. Past RM30 where the RM9 cap amount is hit, the coupon no longer provides 30% off.]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== False Low Pricing ===&lt;br /&gt;
Since one product listing can have multiple &amp;quot;variants&amp;quot;, sellers often will list a refurbished and/or completely different product with a low price as a variant so that the lower price appears on the search.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Fraudulent Products and/or Advertising ==&lt;br /&gt;
A lot of fake products (2TB SD cards selling at 1/5th what their price is supposed to be, obviously spoofed capacity like those sold on Amazon too) and fake claims (&amp;quot;Magnetic&amp;quot; screen protectors for tablets which come with no magnetic properties and tear-off strips for adhesive)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Deterring Returns and Exchanges ==&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee and its sellers operate under the very South East Asian low trust principle which assumes the customer is always lying. The default way to handle returns and exchanges is to always ask for the original product back.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This makes it challenging for returning products that are low priced but bulky (e.g. clothes drying rack) and/or require assembly (e.g. cheap Chinese furniture, which make up the bulk of furniture across Shopee&#039;s regional websites).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Gating Content Behind a Login Wall ==&lt;br /&gt;
From time to time, when landing on Shopee&#039;s website (either direct or via search results), users will be redirected to the login page and are prevented from browsing products.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
No doubt this is a feature still being A/B tested. There are several advantages for Shopee doing this, such as being able to link browsing behavior directly to users and making it difficult to compare prices without an account.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== References ==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Companies]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Services]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Online Services Companies]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Shopee_voucher_with_cap.png&amp;diff=3682</id>
		<title>File:Shopee voucher with cap.png</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Shopee_voucher_with_cap.png&amp;diff=3682"/>
		<updated>2025-01-21T02:00:39Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Misleading coupon code with &amp;quot;30% off&amp;quot; but &amp;quot;Capped at RM9&amp;quot; (USD 2) but &amp;quot;Minimum spend RM20&amp;quot; (USD 4.50). This forces the customer to spend only within the range of RM20-RM30 in order for the coupon&#039;s advertised 30% off to be true. Past RM30 where the RM9 cap amount is hit, the coupon no longer provides 30% off.&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Microsoft&amp;diff=1741</id>
		<title>Microsoft</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Microsoft&amp;diff=1741"/>
		<updated>2025-01-17T14:26:13Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: Added section on dark patterns pushing users to using a Microsoft account when installing Windows&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{incomplete}}&lt;br /&gt;
----&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Microsoft had stated that Windows 10 would be the last Windows version, but now they are forcing users into Windows 11 by discontinuing free official support for Windows 10 starting on October 14, 2025,&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/end-of-support&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; which is widely regarded as a significantly inferior operating system. Windows 11 also adds new requirements for the installation, including a Microsoft account, TPM (trusted platform module), and more.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-10-specifications&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-11-system-requirements-86c11283-ea52-4782-9efd-7674389a7ba3&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; PCs made before a couple of years ago (when it was promised that Windows 10 would be the last version) do not have this hardware. It is notable that most of these restrictions can be bypassed. New Windows 11 builds are now shipping with Microsoft Copilot which is a pre-installed opt-out AI program.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-11&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Controversies ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Court cases up to the early 2000s ===&lt;br /&gt;
In the major antitrust case brought by the US Department of Justice, U.S. v. Microsoft Corp., 253 F.3d 34 (D.C. Cir. 2001)&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/253/34/576095/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, Microsoft argued that there was no barrier to entry in the market they were in. A central issue at that time was whether Microsoft could bundle the web browser Internet Explorer with the Microsoft Windows operating system. The following was said in the court case: &amp;quot;The District Court condemned a number of provisions in Microsoft&#039;s agreements licensing Windows to OEMs, because it found that Microsoft&#039;s imposition of those provisions (like many of Microsoft&#039;s other actions at issue in this case) serves to reduce usage share of Netscape&#039;s browser and, hence, protect Microsoft&#039;s operating system monopoly.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The court specifically identified three main license restrictions for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) that were considered problematic:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# the prohibition upon the removal of desktop icons, folders, and Start menu entries&lt;br /&gt;
# the prohibition for modifying the initial boot sequence&lt;br /&gt;
# the prohibition of otherwise altering the appearance of the Windows desktop&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The case was eventually settled&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.justice.gov/atr/case-document/file/503541/dl&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/373/1199/474311/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, and did not result in a company breakup&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.seattletimes.com/business/microsoft/long-antitrust-saga-ends-for-microsoft/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Section III.H of the Consent Decree&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.justice.gov/atr/microsoft-consent-decree-compliance-advisory-august-1-2003-us-v-microsoft&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; required Microsoft to &amp;quot;allow end users and OEMs to enable or remove access to all middleware products­, including web browsers, e-mail clients, and media players ­through a readily accessible, centralized mechanism&amp;quot;. End users and OEMs should be able &amp;quot;to specify a non-Microsoft middleware product as the default middleware product to be launched in place of the corresponding Microsoft middleware product&amp;quot;. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the case United States v. Microsoft Corp., 87 F. Supp. 2d 30 (D.D.C. 2000)&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/87/30/2307082/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, Microsoft&#039;s Conduct taken as a whole is described as &amp;quot;deliberate assault upon entrepreneurial efforts that, could well have enabled the introduction of competition into the market for Intel-compatible PC operating systems&amp;quot;. Further, &amp;quot;Microsoft&#039;s anticompetitive actions trammeled the competitive process through which the computer software industry generally stimulates innovation and conduces to the optimum benefit of consumers&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Edge ===&lt;br /&gt;
Microsoft&#039;s web browser, Edge, has also been a major problem for consumers. Windows comes with it preinstalled, and while it is possible to remove, Microsoft makes it harder and harder with each update. They state the reason for this as follows: &amp;quot;Our default web browser is an essential component of our operating system and can’t be uninstalled.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/why-can-t-i-uninstall-microsoft-edge-ee150b3b-7d7a-9984-6d83-eb36683d526d&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Windows 11 ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== TPM 2.0 Chip Requirements ====&lt;br /&gt;
While being something that can be reasonably circumvented&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.starwindsoftware.com/blog/bypass-tpm-and-install-windows-11-on-unsupported-hardware/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, Microsoft&#039;s decision to attempt to lock-down Windows 11 to computers with Trusted Platform Module 2.0 chips (TPMs) has forced the hands of both consumers and companies alike to dispose of hardware that would otherwise be perfectly acceptable to use&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://securityonline.info/windows-11s-tpm-2-0-free-software-foundation-fights-forced-upgrades-and-e-waste/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. This has also included Windows 10 users to be frequently reminded by Microsoft to upgrade their hardware to Windows 11&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.pcmag.com/news/microsoft-revives-pop-ups-in-windows-10-to-push-windows-11-upgrades&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/microsoft-embarrasses-itself-with-windows-10-pop-up-that-hogs-the-desktop-urging-an-upgrade-to-windows-11-then-promptly-crashes&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, which has caused many users frequent agitation&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.reddit.com/r/microsoft/comments/19dvs9k/any_way_to_disable_the_upgrade_to_windows_11_ads/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== Recall ====&lt;br /&gt;
During 2024, Microsoft unveiled Recall&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/microsoft-reveals-ai-powered-recall-feature-to-transform-windows-11s-searchability-while-confirming-hardware-requirements&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, marketed as a way to search through what you have done on your computer. This, of course, sparked massive controversy&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/microsofts-controversial-recall-feature-for-windows-11-could-already-be-in-legal-hot-water&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, especially among security experts&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/feature/Privacy-and-security-risks-surrounding-Microsoft-Recall&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; that worried about how secure the screenshots the tool takes are&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://news.sky.com/story/microsoft-ai-feature-investigated-by-uk-watchdog-over-screenshots-13141171&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, since it could easily document private information like Social Security Numbers, bank account information, and passwords, among other things such as browsing behavior on more mature platforms. This feature was delayed after massive backlash&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2024/06/microsoft-recall-delayed-after-privacy-and-security-concerns&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, however, so long as users can jailbreak AI assistants, and bypass screenshot encryption, this feature remains not ideal for neither consumers nor businesses handling sensitive information.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Microsoft account dark patterns when installing Windows ===&lt;br /&gt;
Numerous dark patterns have been implemented in the form of sneaky language and user interface during the installation process to mislead users into thinking a Microsoft account is required and thus logging in or creating an account. The dark patterns to push users towards linking a Microsoft account have been in place since Windows 10 was launched in 2015 and continue into the Windows 11 installation process.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Anti-consumer Practices==&lt;br /&gt;
=== De-listing/destruction of access to games ===&lt;br /&gt;
In early September of 2016, Microsoft shut down access to purchasing Xbox 360 Indie Games &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.polygon.com/2015/9/9/9297959/xbox-live-indie-games-shutting-down&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, and in late July of 2024, Microsoft shut down their storefront for Xbox 360 games&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2023/08/17/xbox-360-store-will-close-july-2024/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. These shutdowns have caused hundreds of games to become impossible to obtain new copies of and for some, additionally play.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== References ==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Companies]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=LinkedIn&amp;diff=1722</id>
		<title>LinkedIn</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=LinkedIn&amp;diff=1722"/>
		<updated>2025-01-17T13:44:53Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: Created page with &amp;quot;LinkedIn is a &amp;quot;professional&amp;quot; social media website best known for its dark pattern in misleading users hand over their email login credentials to LinkedIn, allowing them to scrape their contacts list and uploading that to LinkedIn. This &amp;quot;feature&amp;quot; was around since 2010 to 20??.  LinkedIn also makes it difficult to cancel their free trial membership, preying upon users forgetting or not being able to locate the cancel page.  LinkedIn&amp;#039;s membership price has also quintupled f...&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;LinkedIn is a &amp;quot;professional&amp;quot; social media website best known for its dark pattern in misleading users hand over their email login credentials to LinkedIn, allowing them to scrape their contacts list and uploading that to LinkedIn. This &amp;quot;feature&amp;quot; was around since 2010 to 20??.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
LinkedIn also makes it difficult to cancel their free trial membership, preying upon users forgetting or not being able to locate the cancel page.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
LinkedIn&#039;s membership price has also quintupled from $10 per month in 2018 to $50 in 2024.&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Shopee&amp;diff=1709</id>
		<title>Shopee</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Shopee&amp;diff=1709"/>
		<updated>2025-01-17T13:23:55Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Shopee is an ecommerce website, founded in Singapore and operates primarily in South East Asia and Latin America. Shopee operates under Sea Ltd which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the $SE ticker&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SE&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee is basically the Amazon of the East, outside China, being named the largest e-commerce platform in South East Asia with almost half of the $47.9 billion in total gross merchandise volume in 2023 in the region being attributed to Shopee&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://momentum.asia/product/ecommerce-in-southeast-asia-2023/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee is known to engage in extremely, often blatantly unethical behavior that makes the questionable practices of [[Amazon]] look tame.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While Shopee does not sell the majority of its products directly and relies on a vast number of sellers to shape their online marketplace, the fact these listed unethical/illegal practices have been allowed to continue for years till present day (2025) without any intervention makes it clear that Shopee is complicit in misleading customers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Review manipulation ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Incentivizing users to post 5 star reviews before using or even unboxing a product. ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Removal of unfavorable reviews ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Product and review stacking ===&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee enables review fraud and manipulation further by allowing multiple variants of a product to be listed under one product listing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This is obviously intended for use cases such as:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# Same base product with different colors as variants (e.g. Clothes, home appliances)&lt;br /&gt;
# Same base product with different sizes as variants (e.g. Phone cases)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== Stacking used and new products ====&lt;br /&gt;
But unethical sellers often group used and new products together, so that the lower price shows up on search results (See given screenshot on Alienware AW3225QF).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the given example:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* The customer is able to see RM4,690 (1,040 USD) as the listed price of the Alienware AW3225QF monitor on search results and the seller&#039;s storefront.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee_product_stacking_misleading_pricing.png|thumb|Shopee product stacking and review stacking by listing multiple variants under 1 product listing]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* Upon clicking on the product, the customer will discover that the displayed price of RM4,690 is actually for a refurbished product&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://shopee.com.my/Alienware-AW3225QF-32-4K-QD-OLED-Gaming-Monitor-240Hz-(OC)-Refresh-Rate-0.03-ms-Response-Rate-with-Free-Shipping-i.64728735.25162663808&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* The real cost to buy the product new is actually RM5,170 (1,147 USD).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== Stacking completely different products ====&lt;br /&gt;
Some sellers also outright group different, unrelated products together under one listing to stack reviews. (See screenshot on Dell UltraSharp U4025QW)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the given example:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* The customer searches for a &amp;quot;Dell U4025QW&amp;quot; and sees one listed for RM7,000 (1,553 USD) in search results.&lt;br /&gt;
* Upon clicking on the product, the customer will discover that the displayed price is actually for a refurbished Dell U4021QW (a different, older product that is refurbished)&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://shopee.com.my/Dell-UltraSharp-U4025QW-U4021QW-5K-Curved-Thunderbolt-Hub-WUHD-Monitor-with-IPS-Black-Panel-Free-Shipping-i.64728735.6081544385&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* And the real cost to buy the Dell U4025QW new is actually RM9,740 (2,161 USD).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Product hijacking ===&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee enables its sellers to completely change a listed product in title, description and images, while retaining reviews of the originally listed product. This allows sellers to boost newly launched products which would not yet have any buyers, to have glowing 5 star reviews off the bat.&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee product stacking different product.png|thumb|Shopee product stacking with seller listing unrelated products as variants under 1 product listing]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Misleading advertising ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Misleading coupon codes ===&lt;br /&gt;
Displaying large discounts but with usage limits create a false sense of a good deal. Their most common misleading coupon is &amp;quot;-75% OFF! Max $1 discount&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== False low pricing ===&lt;br /&gt;
Since one product listing can have multiple &amp;quot;variants&amp;quot;, sellers often will list a refurbished and/or completely different product with a low price as a variant so that the lower price appears on the search.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Fraudulent products and/or advertising ==&lt;br /&gt;
A lot of fake products (2TB SD cards selling at 1/5th what their price is supposed to be, obviously spoofed capacity like those sold on Amazon too) and fake claims (&amp;quot;Magnetic&amp;quot; screen protectors for tablets which come with no magnetic properties and tear-off strips for adhesive)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Deterring returns and exchanges ==&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee and its sellers operate under the very South East Asian low trust principle which assumes the customer is always lying. The default way to handle returns and exchanges is to always ask for the original product back.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This makes it challenging for returning products that are low priced but bulky (e.g. clothes drying rack) and/or require assembly (e.g. cheap Chinese furniture, which make up the bulk of furniture across Shopee&#039;s regional websites)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Gating content behind login wall ==&lt;br /&gt;
From time to time, when landing on Shopee&#039;s website (either direct or via search results), users will be redirected to the login page and are prevented from browsing products.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
No doubt this is a feature still being A/B tested. There are several advantages for Shopee doing this: being able to link browsing behavior directly to users and making it difficult to compare prices without an account.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== References ==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references /&amp;gt;&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Shopee&amp;diff=1707</id>
		<title>Shopee</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Shopee&amp;diff=1707"/>
		<updated>2025-01-17T13:15:33Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: Created Shopee page, detailing manipulative, unethical and illegal practices, with screenshots&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Shopee is an ecommerce website, founded in Singapore and operates primarily in South East Asia and Latin America. Shopee operates under Sea Ltd which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the $SE ticker&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SE&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee is basically the Amazon of the East, outside China, being named the largest e-commerce platform in South East Asia with almost half of the $47.9 billion in total gross merchandise volume in 2023 in the region being attributed to Shopee&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://momentum.asia/product/ecommerce-in-southeast-asia-2023/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee is known to engage in extremely, often blatantly unethical behavior that makes the questionable practices of [[Amazon]] look tame.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While Shopee does not sell the majority of its products directly and relies on a vast number of sellers to shape their online marketplace, the fact these listed unethical/illegal practices have been allowed to continue for years till present day (2025) without any intervention makes it clear that Shopee is complicit in misleading customers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Review manipulation ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Incentivizing users to post 5 star reviews before using or even unboxing a product. ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Removal of unfavorable reviews ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Product and review stacking ===&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee enables review fraud and manipulation further by allowing multiple variants of a product to be listed under one product listing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This is obviously intended for use cases such as:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# Same base product with different colors as variants (e.g. Clothes, home appliances)&lt;br /&gt;
# Same base product with different sizes as variants (e.g. Phone cases)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== Stacking used and new products ====&lt;br /&gt;
But unethical sellers often group used and new products together, so that the lower price shows up on search results (See given screenshot on Alienware AW3225QF).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the given example:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* The customer is able to see RM4,690 (1,040 USD) as the listed price of the Alienware AW3225QF monitor on search results and the seller&#039;s storefront.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee_product_stacking_misleading_pricing.png|thumb|Shopee product stacking and review stacking by listing multiple variants under 1 product listing]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* Upon clicking on the product, the customer will discover that the displayed price of RM4,690 is actually for a refurbished product&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://shopee.com.my/Alienware-AW3225QF-32-4K-QD-OLED-Gaming-Monitor-240Hz-(OC)-Refresh-Rate-0.03-ms-Response-Rate-with-Free-Shipping-i.64728735.25162663808&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* The real cost to buy the product new is actually RM5,170 (1,147 USD).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== Stacking completely different products ====&lt;br /&gt;
Some sellers also outright group different, unrelated products together under one listing to stack reviews. (See screenshot on Dell UltraSharp U4025QW)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the given example:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* The customer searches for a &amp;quot;Dell U4025QW&amp;quot; and sees one listed for RM7,000 (1,553 USD) in search results.&lt;br /&gt;
* Upon clicking on the product, the customer will discover that the displayed price is actually for a refurbished Dell U4021QW (a different, older product that is refurbished)&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://shopee.com.my/Dell-UltraSharp-U4025QW-U4021QW-5K-Curved-Thunderbolt-Hub-WUHD-Monitor-with-IPS-Black-Panel-Free-Shipping-i.64728735.6081544385&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* And the real cost to buy the Dell U4024QW new is actually RM9,740 (2,161 USD).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Product hijacking ===&lt;br /&gt;
Shopee enables its sellers to completely change a listed product in title, description and images, while retaining reviews of the originally listed product. This allows sellers to boost newly launched products which would not yet have any buyers, to have glowing 5 star reviews off the bat.&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Shopee product stacking different product.png|thumb|Shopee product stacking with seller listing unrelated products as variants under 1 product listing]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Misleading advertising ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Misleading coupon codes ===&lt;br /&gt;
Displaying large discounts but with usage limits create a false sense of a good deal. Their most common misleading coupon is &amp;quot;-75% OFF! Max $1 discount&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== False low pricing ===&lt;br /&gt;
Since one product listing can have multiple &amp;quot;variants&amp;quot;, sellers often will list a refurbished and/or completely different product with a low price as a variant so that the lower price appears on the search.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Fraudulent products and/or advertising ==&lt;br /&gt;
A lot of fake products (2TB SD cards selling at 1/5th what their price is supposed to be, obviously spoofed capacity like those sold on Amazon too) and fake claims (&amp;quot;Magnetic&amp;quot; screen protectors for tablets which come with no magnetic properties and tear-off strips for adhesive)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Gating content behind login wall ==&lt;br /&gt;
From time to time, when landing on Shopee&#039;s website (either direct or via search results), users will be redirected to the login page and are prevented from browsing products.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
No doubt this is a feature still being A/B tested. There are several advantages for Shopee doing this: being able to link browsing behavior directly to users and making it difficult to compare prices without an account.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== References ==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references /&amp;gt;&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Shopee_product_stacking_different_product.png&amp;diff=1706</id>
		<title>File:Shopee product stacking different product.png</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Shopee_product_stacking_different_product.png&amp;diff=1706"/>
		<updated>2025-01-17T13:00:31Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Shopee product stacking with seller listing unrelated products as variants under 1 product listing&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Shopee_product_stacking_misleading_pricing.png&amp;diff=1705</id>
		<title>File:Shopee product stacking misleading pricing.png</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Shopee_product_stacking_misleading_pricing.png&amp;diff=1705"/>
		<updated>2025-01-17T12:52:50Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Shopee product stacking and review stacking by listing multiple variants under 1 product listing&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Shopee_5_star_review_before_using_product.png&amp;diff=1696</id>
		<title>File:Shopee 5 star review before using product.png</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Shopee_5_star_review_before_using_product.png&amp;diff=1696"/>
		<updated>2025-01-17T12:09:30Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;A 4.8 star product on Shopee with multiple 5 star reviews from customers who haven&#039;t even used the product (Jan 2025)&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Forced_app_download&amp;diff=1691</id>
		<title>Forced app download</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Forced_app_download&amp;diff=1691"/>
		<updated>2025-01-17T11:40:59Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: 3p integration&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Forced app download experience is an experience where the user is forced by a business or government entity to download an app to their phone to perform basic tasks that could have otherwise been done on a standard web browser (e.g. adding a credit card for payments) or in real life (e.g. ordering a coffee).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The forced app download experience is becoming increasingly popular in many countries pushing digitalization. A prime example is Singapore whose government is all-in on digital everything, where it is impossible for anyone to have a bank account without using the bank&#039;s app and everyone must have a device that runs stock iOS or Android in order to download various government and business apps from their respective official app stores. Devices must also be running stock operating systems since most government and business apps conduct intrusive checks and will not run if a device is jailbroken or rooted.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Most companies (and likely most governments too) would love for this to happen in more countries across the globe because the forced app download experience allows for:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Identification and tracking of users&#039;&#039;&#039;  - not just on an account level and payments, but through deep device identifiers, location, network connection&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Push of the cashless agenda&#039;&#039;&#039; - digital-only payments typically go hand-in-hand with app-only experiences&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Increased digital integration&#039;&#039;&#039; - endless possibilities of integrating and sharing data with payment processors, ad providers,&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Increased centralization and dependency on big companies&#039;&#039;&#039; - putting more power in the hands of big tech (Apple and Google) with mandatory official app store downloads and big payments (Visa and Mastercard) with forced digital payments&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Characteristics ==&lt;br /&gt;
The forced app download experience involves:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Forcing download and use of app to interact with a business&#039;&#039;&#039; - Basic tasks like ordering, making payments, changing settings.&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Deliberately crippling or removing functionality from the web experience&#039;&#039;&#039; - Prevent users from having an alternative interface to perform basic tasks.&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Forcing users to always be on the latest version of an app&#039;&#039;&#039; - &amp;quot;For your security&amp;quot; (as they usually claim), most of these apps will constantly check for the latest version and self-disable if they are older than X versions (varies by company)&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Mandatory use of account&#039;&#039;&#039; - For most of these apps to work, you must have an account for features to work. For example, with the Luckin Coffee app, you must create an account tied to your phone number. You cannot order as a guest&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Key implications ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== User tracking and intrusion of privacy ===&lt;br /&gt;
The hallmarks of the forced app download experience are mandatory account creation and usage, and digital payments. This allows tracking of the user not just by the company behind the app, but the payment provider and any other associated third-party partners.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Mandatory use of &amp;quot;approved devices&amp;quot; and big tech operating systems ===&lt;br /&gt;
Apps are only available for download from official app stores, meaning consumers must use a device running iOS or Android.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Devices must also be running stock operating systems since most government and business apps conduct intrusive checks and will not run if a device is jailbroken or rooted.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Some companies such as big banks in Singapore have also started incorporating checks for &amp;quot;unverified apps&amp;quot; in their app. This means their app will scan your phone and check for sideloaded apps (anywhere that is not the official app store. For example, an app downloaded directly from APK Mirror or an unofficial app repository like F-Droid) as part of &amp;quot;anti-scam security measures that include restricting customers from accessing the banks’ digital services on their mobile phones if apps from unverified app stores – also known as sideloaded apps – are detected&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/dbs-uob-anti-scam-sideloaded-app-malware-measure-latest-bank-restrict-app-access-3796806&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Surge pricing ===&lt;br /&gt;
So far, the implementation of surge pricing in the context of businesses that have the forced app download experience has not yet been seen. However, trust that the enterprising individuals and ecommerce platform providers (especially &amp;quot;modern headless ecommerce&amp;quot; companies&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.forrester.com/blogs/doing-selling-and-being-headless-commerce/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;) looking to maximize clean out of consumers&#039; wallets will quickly develop and deploy surge pricing once businesses with forced app download experiences gain sufficient footing both in their respective industries and in general market penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Since ordering and payments are entirely digital, it is very possible to see surge pricing (similar to what we&#039;ve seen from ride hailing companies like Uber, Lyft and Grab) implemented across other industries.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For example, a restaurant that is popular enough could implement surge pricing to charge more during peak hours, like weekday lunch time to hit the downtime office crowd that is lacking in time and places to eat, or Friday night when many people are looking to go out.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Third-party integration ===&lt;br /&gt;
Just like how some car insurance providers in the US are adjusting their rates based on &amp;quot;smart&amp;quot; reporting from cars, it is also very possible for other intrusive and oppressive pair ups to happen. For example:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* Restaurants, cafes and bars with forced app download experiences sharing data with health insurance companies, who increase your premium if they see a lifestyle/pattern of ordering unhealthy dishes or overly large portions, or frequenting that bubble tea shop too often.&lt;br /&gt;
* Government tax agency charging you &amp;quot;excess carbon footprint&amp;quot; taxes because you often order a lot of clothes beyond the number that the &amp;quot;Average&amp;quot; person of your profile wears, based on what your favorite fast fashion retailer with a forced app download experience is sharing with them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:No unverified apps.png|thumb|Singapore banks will &amp;quot;restrict access if unverified apps AKA sideloaded apps are found on customers&#039; phones&amp;quot; (News story from Sep 2023)]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Examples ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Banking and finance ===&lt;br /&gt;
All banks in Singapore (Citi, DBS, UOB, OCBC, Standard Chartered, CIMB) mandate use of their apps for consumers to perform any online banking activities, including logging in via their web browser.&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Forced app download.png|thumb|Luckin Coffee, a China-origin Starbucks competitor, forces you to download their app to order and pay for coffee. You cannot order coffee at the cashier in their store, let alone pay. You must use the app to interact with this business and digital payments to pay.]]&lt;br /&gt;
The apps generate notifications that require users to approve/deny actions like logging in via a web browser, initiating a payment, adding a payee, etc via the app itself. Some banks previously offered sending an OTP via SMS (text) as an alternative to app-based approval but this has since been discontinued for &amp;quot;security reasons&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Utilities and public services ===&lt;br /&gt;
SP Group is Singapore&#039;s primary and default electricity provider, as well as the country&#039;s only provider for gas and water for consumers. In 2022, SP Group removed the ability to manage payments from their website, forcing users to download and use their mobile app to pay bills/manage recurring payments&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.spdigital.sg/spapp/bill-payment&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As they are the country&#039;s only provider for gas and water, everyone in Singapore MUST download their app at some point.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Food and beverage ===&lt;br /&gt;
An increasing number of &#039;digital-native&#039; food businesses that are app-only are making their way onto the market. For example, Luckin Coffee, a Starbucks competitor of China origin with stores in Singapore and planned expansion into Malaysia and the US in 2025&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.worldcoffeeportal.com/Latest/News/2024/October/China-s-Luckin-Coffee-reportedly-planning-US-launc&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, only allows ordering of beverages and payments via its app. The way it works is you download the app, register an account, log in, order a coffee and pay for it, then pick it up at a Luckin Coffee location.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
With a food and beverage business that is fully committed to the forced app download experience like Luckin Coffee, there is no way to order nor pay at the physical store. You &#039;&#039;&#039;must download and use the app&#039;&#039;&#039; to interact with the business.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Forced app download experience represents the next stage of evolution from QR code based ordering. The key differences are:&lt;br /&gt;
{| class=&amp;quot;wikitable&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
|+&lt;br /&gt;
!Characteristic&lt;br /&gt;
!Forced app download experience&lt;br /&gt;
!QR code based ordering&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|Interface&lt;br /&gt;
|App downloaded from official app store&lt;br /&gt;
|Page opened in your choice of web browser&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|Ordering&lt;br /&gt;
|Order MUST be placed via app&lt;br /&gt;
|QR is pushed but usually possible to order offline (in real life)&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|Login&lt;br /&gt;
|You MUST create an account and log in to place an order&lt;br /&gt;
|Not required, often no registration is possible&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|Payments&lt;br /&gt;
|Cashless digital payment only&lt;br /&gt;
Payment MUST be made via app&lt;br /&gt;
|Depending on website, sometimes order online, pay offline&lt;br /&gt;
Depending on business, cash payments are usually possible&lt;br /&gt;
|}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== References ==&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Forced_app_download&amp;diff=1689</id>
		<title>Forced app download</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Forced_app_download&amp;diff=1689"/>
		<updated>2025-01-17T11:32:24Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: Added F&amp;amp;B and surge pricing&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Forced app download experience is an experience where the user is forced by a business or government entity to download an app to their phone to perform basic tasks that could have otherwise been done on a standard web browser (e.g. adding a credit card for payments) or in real life (e.g. ordering a coffee).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The forced app download experience is becoming increasingly popular in many countries pushing digitalization. A prime example is Singapore whose government is all-in on digital everything, where it is impossible for anyone to have a bank account without using the bank&#039;s app and everyone must have a device that runs stock iOS or Android in order to download various government and business apps from their respective official app stores. Devices must also be running stock operating systems since most government and business apps conduct intrusive checks and will not run if a device is jailbroken or rooted.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Most companies (and likely most governments too) would love for this to happen in more countries across the globe because the forced app download experience allows for:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Identification and tracking of users&#039;&#039;&#039;  - not just on an account level and payments, but through deep device identifiers, location, network connection&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Push of the cashless agenda&#039;&#039;&#039; - digital-only payments typically go hand-in-hand with app-only experiences&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Increased digital integration&#039;&#039;&#039; - endless possibilities of integrating and sharing data with payment processors, ad providers,&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Increased centralization and dependency on big companies&#039;&#039;&#039; - putting more power in the hands of big tech (Apple and Google) with mandatory official app store downloads and big payments (Visa and Mastercard) with forced digital payments&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Characteristics ==&lt;br /&gt;
The forced app download experience involves:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Forcing download and use of app to interact with a business&#039;&#039;&#039; - Basic tasks like ordering, making payments, changing settings.&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Deliberately crippling or removing functionality from the web experience&#039;&#039;&#039; - Prevent users from having an alternative interface to perform basic tasks.&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Forcing users to always be on the latest version of an app&#039;&#039;&#039; - &amp;quot;For your security&amp;quot; (as they usually claim), most of these apps will constantly check for the latest version and self-disable if they are older than X versions (varies by company)&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Mandatory use of account&#039;&#039;&#039; - For most of these apps to work, you must have an account for features to work. For example, with the Luckin Coffee app, you must create an account tied to your phone number. You cannot order as a guest&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Key implications ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== User tracking and intrusion of privacy ===&lt;br /&gt;
The hallmarks of the forced app download experience are mandatory account creation and usage, and digital payments. This allows tracking of the user not just by the company behind the app, but the payment provider and any other associated third-party partners.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Mandatory use of &amp;quot;approved devices&amp;quot; and big tech operating systems ===&lt;br /&gt;
Apps are only available for download from official app stores, meaning consumers must use a device running iOS or Android.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Devices must also be running stock operating systems since most government and business apps conduct intrusive checks and will not run if a device is jailbroken or rooted.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Some companies such as big banks in Singapore have also started incorporating checks for &amp;quot;unverified apps&amp;quot; in their app. This means their app will scan your phone and check for sideloaded apps (anywhere that is not the official app store. For example, an app downloaded directly from APK Mirror or an unofficial app repository like F-Droid) as part of &amp;quot;anti-scam security measures that include restricting customers from accessing the banks’ digital services on their mobile phones if apps from unverified app stores – also known as sideloaded apps – are detected&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/dbs-uob-anti-scam-sideloaded-app-malware-measure-latest-bank-restrict-app-access-3796806&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Surge pricing ===&lt;br /&gt;
So far, the implementation of surge pricing in the context of businesses that have the forced app download experience has not yet been seen. However, trust that the enterprising individuals and ecommerce platform providers (especially &amp;quot;modern headless ecommerce&amp;quot; companies&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.forrester.com/blogs/doing-selling-and-being-headless-commerce/&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;) looking to maximize clean out of consumers&#039; wallets will quickly develop and deploy surge pricing once businesses with forced app download experiences gain sufficient footing both in their respective industries and in general market penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Since ordering and payments are entirely digital, it is very possible to see surge pricing (similar to what we&#039;ve seen from ride hailing companies like Uber, Lyft and Grab) implemented across other industries.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For example, a restaurant that is popular enough could implement surge pricing to charge more during peak hours, like weekday lunch time to hit the downtime office crowd that is lacking in time and places to eat, or Friday night when many people are looking to go out.&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:No unverified apps.png|thumb|Singapore banks will &amp;quot;restrict access if unverified apps AKA sideloaded apps are found on customers&#039; phones&amp;quot; (News story from Sep 2023)]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Examples ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Banking and finance ===&lt;br /&gt;
All banks in Singapore (Citi, DBS, UOB, OCBC, Standard Chartered, CIMB) mandate use of their apps for consumers to perform any online banking activities, including logging in via their web browser.&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Forced app download.png|thumb|Luckin Coffee, a China-origin Starbucks competitor, forces you to download their app to order and pay for coffee. You cannot order coffee at the cashier in their store, let alone pay. You must use the app to interact with this business and digital payments to pay.]]&lt;br /&gt;
The apps generate notifications that require users to approve/deny actions like logging in via a web browser, initiating a payment, adding a payee, etc via the app itself. Some banks previously offered sending an OTP via SMS (text) as an alternative to app-based approval but this has since been discontinued for &amp;quot;security reasons&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Utilities and public services ===&lt;br /&gt;
SP Group is Singapore&#039;s primary and default electricity provider, as well as the country&#039;s only provider for gas and water for consumers. In 2022, SP Group removed the ability to manage payments from their website, forcing users to download and use their mobile app to pay bills/manage recurring payments&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.spdigital.sg/spapp/bill-payment&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As they are the country&#039;s only provider for gas and water, everyone in Singapore MUST download their app at some point.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Food and beverage ===&lt;br /&gt;
An increasing number of &#039;digital-native&#039; food businesses that are app-only are making their way onto the market. For example, Luckin Coffee, a Starbucks competitor of China origin with stores in Singapore and planned expansion into Malaysia and the US in 2025&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.worldcoffeeportal.com/Latest/News/2024/October/China-s-Luckin-Coffee-reportedly-planning-US-launc&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, only allows ordering of beverages and payments via its app. The way it works is you download the app, register an account, log in, order a coffee and pay for it, then pick it up at a Luckin Coffee location.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
With a food and beverage business that is fully committed to the forced app download experience like Luckin Coffee, there is no way to order nor pay at the physical store. You &#039;&#039;&#039;must download and use the app&#039;&#039;&#039; to interact with the business.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Forced app download experience represents the next stage of evolution from QR code based ordering. The key differences are:&lt;br /&gt;
{| class=&amp;quot;wikitable&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
|+&lt;br /&gt;
!Characteristic&lt;br /&gt;
!Forced app download experience&lt;br /&gt;
!QR code based ordering&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|Interface&lt;br /&gt;
|App downloaded from official app store&lt;br /&gt;
|Page opened in your choice of web browser&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|Ordering&lt;br /&gt;
|Order MUST be placed via app&lt;br /&gt;
|QR is pushed but usually possible to order offline (in real life)&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|Login&lt;br /&gt;
|You MUST create an account and log in to place an order&lt;br /&gt;
|Not required, often no registration is possible&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|Payments&lt;br /&gt;
|Cashless digital payment only&lt;br /&gt;
Payment MUST be made via app&lt;br /&gt;
|Depending on website, sometimes order online, pay offline&lt;br /&gt;
Depending on business, cash payments are usually possible&lt;br /&gt;
|}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== References ==&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Forced_app_download&amp;diff=1664</id>
		<title>Forced app download</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Forced_app_download&amp;diff=1664"/>
		<updated>2025-01-17T11:01:28Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: Created page&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Forced app download experience is an experience where the user is forced by a business or government entity to download an app to their phone to perform basic tasks that could have otherwise been done on a standard web browser (e.g. adding a credit card for payments) or in real life (e.g. ordering a coffee).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The forced app download experience is becoming increasingly popular in many countries pushing digitalization. A prime example is Singapore whose government is all-in on digital everything, where it is impossible for anyone to have a bank account without using the bank&#039;s app and everyone must have a device that runs stock iOS or Android in order to download various government and business apps from their respective official app stores. Devices must also be running stock operating systems since most government and business apps conduct intrusive checks and will not run if a device is jailbroken or rooted.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Most companies (and likely most governments too) would love for this to happen in more countries across the globe because the forced app download experience allows for:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Identification and tracking of users&#039;&#039;&#039;  - not just on an account level and payments, but through deep device identifiers, location, network connection&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Push of the cashless agenda&#039;&#039;&#039; - digital-only payments typically go hand-in-hand with app-only experiences&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Increased digital integration&#039;&#039;&#039; - endless possibilities of integrating and sharing data with payment processors, ad providers,&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Increased centralization and dependency on big companies&#039;&#039;&#039; - putting more power in the hands of big tech (Apple and Google) with mandatory official app store downloads and big payments (Visa and Mastercard) with forced digital payments&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Characteristics ==&lt;br /&gt;
The forced app download experience involves:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Forcing download and use of app to interact with a business&#039;&#039;&#039; - Basic tasks like ordering, making payments, changing settings.&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Deliberately crippling or removing functionality from the web experience&#039;&#039;&#039; - Prevent users from having an alternative interface to perform basic tasks.&lt;br /&gt;
# &#039;&#039;&#039;Forcing users to always be on the latest version of an app&#039;&#039;&#039; - &amp;quot;For your security&amp;quot; (as they usually claim), most of these apps will constantly check for the latest version and self-disable if they are older than X versions (varies by company)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Key implications ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== User tracking and intrusion of privacy ===&lt;br /&gt;
The hallmarks of the forced app download experience are mandatory account creation and usage, and digital payments. This allows tracking of the user not just by the company behind the app, but the payment provider and any other associated third-party partners.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Mandatory use of &amp;quot;approved devices&amp;quot; and big tech operating systems ===&lt;br /&gt;
Apps are only available for download from official app stores, meaning consumers must use a device running iOS or Android.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Devices must also be running stock operating systems since most government and business apps conduct intrusive checks and will not run if a device is jailbroken or rooted.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Some companies such as big banks in Singapore have also started incorporating checks for &amp;quot;unverified apps&amp;quot; in their app. This means their app will scan your phone and check for sideloaded apps (anywhere that is not the official app store. For example, an app downloaded directly from APK Mirror or an unofficial app repository like F-Droid) as part of &amp;quot;anti-scam security measures that include restricting customers from accessing the banks’ digital services on their mobile phones if apps from unverified app stores – also known as sideloaded apps – are detected&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/dbs-uob-anti-scam-sideloaded-app-malware-measure-latest-bank-restrict-app-access-3796806&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:No unverified apps.png|thumb|Singapore banks will &amp;quot;restrict access if unverified apps AKA sideloaded apps are found on customers&#039; phones&amp;quot; (News story from Sep 2023)]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Examples ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Banking and finance ===&lt;br /&gt;
All banks in Singapore (Citi, DBS, UOB, OCBC, Standard Chartered, CIMB) mandate use of their apps for consumers to perform any online banking activities, including logging in via their web browser.&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Forced app download.png|thumb|Luckin Coffee, a China-origin Starbucks competitor, forces you to download their app to order and pay for coffee. You cannot order coffee at the cashier in their store, let alone pay. You must use the app to interact with this business and digital payments to pay.]]&lt;br /&gt;
The apps generate notifications that require users to approve/deny actions like logging in via a web browser, initiating a payment, adding a payee, etc via the app itself. Some banks previously offered sending an OTP via SMS (text) as an alternative to app-based approval but this has since been discontinued for &amp;quot;security reasons&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Utilities ===&lt;br /&gt;
SP Group is Singapore&#039;s primary and default electricity provider, as well as the country&#039;s only provider for gas and water for consumers. In 2022, SP Group removed the ability to manage payments from their website, forcing users to download and use their mobile app to pay bills/manage recurring payments&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.spdigital.sg/spapp/bill-payment&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As they are the country&#039;s only provider for gas and water, everyone in Singapore MUST download their app at some point.&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Singapore_banks_no_unverified_apps.png&amp;diff=1645</id>
		<title>File:Singapore banks no unverified apps.png</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Singapore_banks_no_unverified_apps.png&amp;diff=1645"/>
		<updated>2025-01-17T10:42:29Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Singapore banks declare war on &amp;quot;unverified apps&amp;quot; AKA &amp;quot;sideloaded apps&amp;quot;&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Luckin_Coffee_forced_app_download.png&amp;diff=1644</id>
		<title>File:Luckin Coffee forced app download.png</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:Luckin_Coffee_forced_app_download.png&amp;diff=1644"/>
		<updated>2025-01-17T10:40:30Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Luckin Coffee main page (Jan 2025)&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=User:Ixus&amp;diff=1625</id>
		<title>User:Ixus</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=User:Ixus&amp;diff=1625"/>
		<updated>2025-01-17T09:47:09Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: Created page with &amp;quot;Having lived in the US, multiple countries in Europe and Asia, consider me a specialist of highlighting the truth of how consumers get F&amp;#039;ed in Asia. Which is a lot more than American consumers. How it is in Asia (especially South East Asia), where consumers are often screwed over and incredibly passive/non-vocal, is what companies want to shape America to be.&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Having lived in the US, multiple countries in Europe and Asia, consider me a specialist of highlighting the truth of how consumers get F&#039;ed in Asia. Which is a lot more than American consumers. How it is in Asia (especially South East Asia), where consumers are often screwed over and incredibly passive/non-vocal, is what companies want to shape America to be.&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=AirAsia&amp;diff=1624</id>
		<title>AirAsia</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=AirAsia&amp;diff=1624"/>
		<updated>2025-01-17T09:38:38Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: Formatting&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;AirAsia is budget airline of Malaysian origin.In 2007, The New York Times described AirAsia as a pioneer of low-cost travel in Asia. As of January 2025, they service Asia, the Middle East and Australia.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Summary (TLDR) ===&lt;br /&gt;
AirAsia secretly and forcefully subscribes any user who creates or links an account with them to 23 different types of spam (&amp;quot;AirAsia communications&amp;quot;) .&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# Users are neither made aware of this fact nor presented with the option to opt out.&lt;br /&gt;
# Normally companies bury opt in text within their terms and conditions, but even the AirAsia Privacy terms page is vague about this.&lt;br /&gt;
# Unsubscribing from AirAsia&#039;s spam is an 8-step process where users have to log into their account.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Non-consensual opt-in to AirAsia marketing spam ===&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Airasia signup page 1.png|thumb|AirAsia sign up dialog that pops up after you select a flight to book. Multiple sign up/easy sign in options are pushed with large, colored icons while the no sign up option is presented as a small &amp;quot;Continue as guest&amp;quot; in plain text at the bottom.]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Airasia signup page.png|thumb|AirAsia sign up page with no notification to users that they will be automatically opted in to receiving &amp;quot;informational&amp;quot; and marketing emails from 23 different AirAsia sources and no ability for user to opt out directly at sign up.]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Airasia spam unsubscribe step 2.PNG.png|thumb|AirAsia Notification Preferences page showing 23 different sources of promotional emails that every user is automatically opted into upon creation of an AirAsia account]]&lt;br /&gt;
AirAsia secretly and automatically forces users to opt-in to 23 different types of promotional and marketing emails (that they call &amp;quot;communications&amp;quot;) when they create or link an account.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# When booking a flight with AirAsia, a popup dialog appears and pushes users to sign in, create or link an account; with multiple sign up and easy sign in options pushed with large font sizes and prominent, colored icons.&lt;br /&gt;
# [[File:Airasia spam unsubscribe step 1.png|thumb|Clicking on an unsubscribe link in an email brings users to this page. AirAsia forces users to log in before they can unsubscribe. ]]The option to book a flight is presented as a small, plain text link &amp;quot;Continue as guest&amp;quot; at the bottom of the popup dialog. (SEE IMAGE 1)&lt;br /&gt;
# During sign up/log in, users are not made aware that they will be opted in automatically to receiving spam &amp;quot;communication&amp;quot; emails from AirAsia. They are also forced into opting in by default, with no ability to opt out directly on the same page.&lt;br /&gt;
# Typically companies sneak promotional and marketing email opt in into their TOS or Privacy Terms page, but on the AirAsia Privacy Statement page&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.airasia.com/aa/about-us/en/gb/privacy-statement.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, they are still extremely vague about the fact they are opting users into their spam, automatically, forcefully and unknowingly; with the terms referencing promotional material being:&lt;br /&gt;
## &amp;quot;The information may be used to provide you with location-based services such as search results and &#039;&#039;&#039;marketing content&#039;&#039;&#039;.&amp;quot; (&amp;quot;Information collection&amp;quot; section&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.airasia.com/aa/about-us/en/gb/privacy-statement.html#information&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;)&lt;br /&gt;
## &amp;quot;AirAsia and AirAsia Group of Companies who have access to this Personal Information with our permission and who need to know or have access to this Personal Information in order to: perform the service requested by you (including to make, administer, and manage reservations or handle payments, &#039;&#039;&#039;&amp;quot;single sign-on&amp;quot;&#039;&#039;&#039;, and customer service); analyze how you use this Website and other websites belonging to AirAsia or AirAsia Group of Companies, improve and &#039;&#039;&#039;provide new and personalized offers, products and services, and marketing, for purposes of research, analytics, to develop and improve any existing and future products or services offered by us&#039;&#039;&#039;, to explore further potential initiatives, to optimise research, improve our forecasting abilities, and for other business purposes of AirAsia or AirAsia Group of Companies; detect, prevent, and investigate fraudulent transactions and/or activities, other illegal activities, and data breaches; internal (audit/compliance) investigations; or as otherwise required or permitted by applicable law.&amp;quot; (&amp;quot;Use of information collected&amp;quot; section&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.airasia.com/aa/about-us/en/gb/privacy-statement.html#informationuse&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;)&lt;br /&gt;
## &#039;&#039;&#039;We may share your Personal Information to: data analytics, marketing agency, third party suppliers of products and services, business partners or service providers, parties which have business or contractual dealings with AirAsia and the AirAsia Group of Companies&#039;&#039;&#039;, and other third party who is able to demonstrate that you have explicitly consented to the disclosure of your Personal Information by us to such third party (collectively known as “Authorised Third Party”) (&amp;quot;Sharing of Information Collected&amp;quot; section&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.airasia.com/aa/about-us/en/gb/privacy-statement.html#sharing&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;)&lt;br /&gt;
# The same Privacy Statement does provide steps to &amp;quot;Manage your marketing communications&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.airasia.com/aa/about-us/en/gb/privacy-statement.html#marketingcomm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, which is a 3-step process assuming the user does this after creating their account and/or booking their flight. The steps highlighted on that page are:&lt;br /&gt;
## Click on Account (your name with the user icon in the upper right side of the page)&lt;br /&gt;
## Click on My Account&lt;br /&gt;
## Click on Notifications Preferences&lt;br /&gt;
# However, since the user is not made aware that they will be opted into a barrage of spam emails, they would not be aware or have reason to go into &amp;quot;Notification Preferences&amp;quot; immediately after account creation/booking.&lt;br /&gt;
# Since most users will learn about the spam later, the unsubscribe process is in reality an 8-step process that takes 8 clicks instead of 3 suggested by AirAsia&#039;s Privacy Statement page (see below)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Multi-step friction to unsubscribe from AirAsia marketing spam ===&lt;br /&gt;
Since most users will learn about the spam later, the unsubscribe process is in reality an 8-step process that takes 8 clicks and user login, instead of 3 suggested by AirAsia&#039;s Privacy Statement page:&lt;br /&gt;
# User clicks on unsubscribe button at bottom of AirAsia promotional email.&lt;br /&gt;
# Instead of directly unsubscribing the user or bringing them to an unsubscribe confirmation page, users are instead linked to their account &amp;quot;Notification Preferences&amp;quot; page where they have to log in.&lt;br /&gt;
# After entering their log in details, users have to also input a One Time Password. This step takes at least 5 additional clicks, where the user has to:&lt;br /&gt;
## Click on their email tab or client (assuming they have it opened)&lt;br /&gt;
## Click on the AirAsia OTP email (assuming they receive it immediately. Otherwise clicking refresh is another click)&lt;br /&gt;
## Copy or remember the OTP, click back to the AirAsia login tab&lt;br /&gt;
## Paste the OTP into the form&lt;br /&gt;
## Click continue&lt;br /&gt;
# User is now on their Notification Preferences page where they get to see the 23 different types of AirAsia spam they never knew they opted into. Assuming they never wanted and don&#039;t want to continue receiving any of these spam emails, they would click on &amp;quot;Pause all emails&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
# User also has to click on &amp;quot;Pause all communications&amp;quot; if they wanted to stop spam from coming in via push notifications and WhatsApp.&lt;br /&gt;
## Another dark pattern/deceptive labeling here from AirAsia is &amp;quot;Pause all communications&amp;quot; implies the user would stop receiving any communications whatsoever. Users would typically want their booking emails, travel itinerary, etc so they would not think of clicking this option.&lt;br /&gt;
## In fine print above this button, there is a statement &amp;quot;Your account activities, transactional updates, payment updates, booking and delivery information are compulsory.&amp;quot; Meaning such emails will be delivered regardless and &amp;quot;communications&amp;quot; in &amp;quot;Pause all communications&amp;quot; really refers to promotional/marketing spam.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== References ==&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=AirAsia&amp;diff=1621</id>
		<title>AirAsia</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=AirAsia&amp;diff=1621"/>
		<updated>2025-01-17T09:33:11Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: Created documentation and screenshots of scummy AirAsia spam practices.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;AirAsia is budget airline of Malaysian origin.In 2007, The New York Times described AirAsia as a pioneer of low-cost travel in Asia. As of January 2025, they service Asia, the Middle East and Australia.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Summary (TLDR) ===&lt;br /&gt;
AirAsia secretly and forcefully subscribes any user who creates or links an account with them to 23 different types of spam (&amp;quot;AirAsia communications&amp;quot;) .&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# Users are neither made aware of this fact nor presented with the option to opt out.&lt;br /&gt;
# Normally companies bury opt in text within their terms and conditions, but even the AirAsia Privacy terms page is vague about this.&lt;br /&gt;
# Unsubscribing from AirAsia&#039;s spam is an 8-step process where users have to log into their account.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Non-consensual opt-in to AirAsia marketing spam ===&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Airasia signup page 1.png|thumb|AirAsia sign up dialog that pops up after you select a flight to book. Multiple sign up/easy sign in options are pushed with large, colored icons while the no sign up option is presented as a small &amp;quot;Continue as guest&amp;quot; in plain text at the bottom.]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Airasia signup page.png|thumb|AirAsia sign up page with no notification to users that they will be automatically opted in to receiving &amp;quot;informational&amp;quot; and marketing emails from 23 different AirAsia sources and no ability for user to opt out directly at sign up.]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[File:Airasia spam unsubscribe step 2.PNG.png|thumb|AirAsia Notification Preferences page showing 23 different sources of promotional emails that every user is automatically opted into upon creation of an AirAsia account]]&lt;br /&gt;
AirAsia secretly and automatically forces users to opt-in to 23 different types of promotional and marketing emails (that they call &amp;quot;communications&amp;quot;) when they create or link an account.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# When booking a flight with AirAsia, a popup dialog appears and pushes users to sign in, create or link an account; with multiple sign up and easy sign in options pushed with large font sizes and prominent, colored icons.&lt;br /&gt;
# [[File:Airasia spam unsubscribe step 1.png|thumb|Clicking on an unsubscribe link in an email brings users to this page. AirAsia forces users to log in before they can unsubscribe. ]]The option to book a flight is presented as a small, plain text link &amp;quot;Continue as guest&amp;quot; at the bottom of the popup dialog. (SEE IMAGE 1)&lt;br /&gt;
# During sign up/log in, users are not made aware that they will be opted in automatically to receiving spam &amp;quot;communication&amp;quot; emails from AirAsia. They are also forced into opting in by default, with no ability to opt out directly on the same page.&lt;br /&gt;
# Typically companies sneak promotional and marketing email opt in into their TOS or Privacy Terms page, but on the AirAsia Privacy Statement page&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.airasia.com/aa/about-us/en/gb/privacy-statement.html&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, they are still extremely vague about the fact they are opting users into their spam, automatically, forcefully and unknowingly; with the terms referencing promotional material being:&lt;br /&gt;
## &amp;quot;The information may be used to provide you with location-based services such as search results and &#039;&#039;&#039;marketing content&#039;&#039;&#039;.&amp;quot; (&amp;quot;Information collection&amp;quot; section&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.airasia.com/aa/about-us/en/gb/privacy-statement.html#information&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;)&lt;br /&gt;
## &amp;quot;AirAsia and AirAsia Group of Companies who have access to this Personal Information with our permission and who need to know or have access to this Personal Information in order to: perform the service requested by you (including to make, administer, and manage reservations or handle payments, &#039;&#039;&#039;&amp;quot;single sign-on&amp;quot;&#039;&#039;&#039;, and customer service); analyze how you use this Website and other websites belonging to AirAsia or AirAsia Group of Companies, improve and &#039;&#039;&#039;provide new and personalized offers, products and services, and marketing, for purposes of research, analytics, to develop and improve any existing and future products or services offered by us&#039;&#039;&#039;, to explore further potential initiatives, to optimise research, improve our forecasting abilities, and for other business purposes of AirAsia or AirAsia Group of Companies; detect, prevent, and investigate fraudulent transactions and/or activities, other illegal activities, and data breaches; internal (audit/compliance) investigations; or as otherwise required or permitted by applicable law.&amp;quot; (&amp;quot;Use of information collected&amp;quot; section&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.airasia.com/aa/about-us/en/gb/privacy-statement.html#informationuse&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;)&lt;br /&gt;
## &#039;&#039;&#039;We may share your Personal Information to: data analytics, marketing agency, third party suppliers of products and services, business partners or service providers, parties which have business or contractual dealings with AirAsia and the AirAsia Group of Companies&#039;&#039;&#039;, and other third party who is able to demonstrate that you have explicitly consented to the disclosure of your Personal Information by us to such third party (collectively known as “Authorised Third Party”) (&amp;quot;Sharing of Information Collected&amp;quot; section&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.airasia.com/aa/about-us/en/gb/privacy-statement.html#sharing&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;)&lt;br /&gt;
# The same Privacy Statement does provide steps to &amp;quot;Manage your marketing communications&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;https://www.airasia.com/aa/about-us/en/gb/privacy-statement.html#marketingcomm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, which is a 3-step process assuming the user does this after creating their account and/or booking their flight. The steps highlighted on that page are:&lt;br /&gt;
## Click on Account (your name with the user icon in the upper right side of the page)&lt;br /&gt;
## Click on My Account&lt;br /&gt;
## Click on Notifications Preferences&lt;br /&gt;
# However, since the user is not made aware that they will be opted into a barrage of spam emails, they would not be aware or have reason to go into &amp;quot;Notification Preferences&amp;quot; immediately after account creation/booking.&lt;br /&gt;
# Since most users will learn about the spam later, the unsubscribe process is in reality an 8-step process that takes 8 clicks instead of 3 suggested by AirAsia&#039;s Privacy Statement page (see below)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Multi-step friction to unsubscribe from AirAsia marketing spam ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# User clicks on unsubscribe button at bottom of AirAsia promotional email.&lt;br /&gt;
# Instead of directly unsubscribing the user or bringing them to an unsubscribe confirmation page, users are instead linked to their account &amp;quot;Notification Preferences&amp;quot; page where they have to log in.&lt;br /&gt;
# After entering their log in details, users have to also input a One Time Password. This step takes at least 5 additional clicks, where the user has to:&lt;br /&gt;
## Click on their email tab or client (assuming they have it opened)&lt;br /&gt;
## Click on the AirAsia OTP email (assuming they receive it immediately. Otherwise clicking refresh is another click)&lt;br /&gt;
## Copy or remember the OTP, click back to the AirAsia login tab&lt;br /&gt;
## Paste the OTP into the form&lt;br /&gt;
## Click continue&lt;br /&gt;
# User is now on their Notification Preferences page where they get to see the 23 different types of AirAsia spam they never knew they opted into. Assuming they never wanted and don&#039;t want to continue receiving any of these spam emails, they would click on &amp;quot;Pause all emails&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
# User also has to click on &amp;quot;Pause all communications&amp;quot; if they wanted to stop spam from coming in via push notifications and WhatsApp.&lt;br /&gt;
## Another dark pattern/deceptive labeling here from AirAsia is &amp;quot;Pause all communications&amp;quot; implies the user would stop receiving any communications whatsoever. Users would typically want their booking emails, travel itinerary, etc so they would not think of clicking this option.&lt;br /&gt;
## In fine print above this button, there is a statement &amp;quot;Your account activities, transactional updates, payment updates, booking and delivery information are compulsory.&amp;quot; Meaning such emails will be delivered regardless and &amp;quot;communications&amp;quot; in &amp;quot;Pause all communications&amp;quot; really refers to promotional/marketing spam.&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:AirAsia_spam_unsubscribe_step_1.png&amp;diff=1620</id>
		<title>File:AirAsia spam unsubscribe step 1.png</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:AirAsia_spam_unsubscribe_step_1.png&amp;diff=1620"/>
		<updated>2025-01-17T09:32:10Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;AirAsia forces users to log in before they can unsubscribe&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:AirAsia_spam_unsubscribe_step_2.PNG.png&amp;diff=1605</id>
		<title>File:AirAsia spam unsubscribe step 2.PNG.png</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:AirAsia_spam_unsubscribe_step_2.PNG.png&amp;diff=1605"/>
		<updated>2025-01-17T08:55:43Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;AirAsia Notification Preferences page showing 23 different sources of promotional emails that every user is automatically opted into upon creation of an AirAsia account&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:AirAsia_signup_page.png&amp;diff=1602</id>
		<title>File:AirAsia signup page.png</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:AirAsia_signup_page.png&amp;diff=1602"/>
		<updated>2025-01-17T08:49:55Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;AirAsia sign up pop up dialog (Jan 2025)&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:AirAsia_signup_page_1.png&amp;diff=1600</id>
		<title>File:AirAsia signup page 1.png</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mirror.consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=File:AirAsia_signup_page_1.png&amp;diff=1600"/>
		<updated>2025-01-17T08:45:54Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Ixus: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Screenshot of AirAsia signup form that pushes for registration (Jan 2025)&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Ixus</name></author>
	</entry>
</feed>