I used Temu or Shein. How can I stop my data from being used?
If you have downloaded the Temu or Shein app or used their websites, know that your personal data has been hoovered up and is already being used. You cannot stop that!
Many readers have been shocked to learn that Temu – more Chinese spyware – the catch in cheap online shopping, and now Shein – more Chinese spyware – fast fashion at the expense of privacy are simply fronts for high-level data mining.
I’m sorry, but your data has already been monetised if you have used Temu or Shein or a plethora of online markets (not Amazon or eBay). Whether that is for targeted advertising, State-sponsored spying, or being sold to the Dark Web to fill out your profile for possible ID theft is not clear.
Important – delete your Temu or Shein account before anything else
Temu App:
1. Log in to your account and click on your user avatar at the bottom of the screen.
2. Click “Settings” and then “Account Security”.
3. At the bottom of the menu, click on “Delete your Temu account”.
This process will be similar for the Shein app.
Temu.com:
1. Log in to your account and click on your user avatar in the screen’s top right corner.
2. Click on “Account security”.
3. Click “Delete your Temu account” at the bottom of the screen.
These steps are similar for Shein – look for My Account, Account security and Delete Account.
Next step
Remove the Temu or Shein app (Android and iOS). You can do this via settings and App management.
Android
That may still leave traces like cookies, transparent pixels, or trackers in your phone.
CCleaner has a free version (install from Google Play but don’t accept ‘paid pro upgrade’—use the back arrow at the payment screen to go to the free dashboard). Note that the same company owns Avast, AVG, Avira, CCleaner, and Norton, so all these offerings are essentially the same.
Or use the free SD Maid 2 from Google Play, which guarantees personal data safety.
iOS
Full instructions are here, but you must also clean Safari (or Chrome or Firefox). We are not aware of any genuine free cleaner apps for iOS.
If the App reappears, go to the App Store and turn off automatically download free and paid apps on other devices. Some users have had to do a factory reset of the phone and a clean OS install to get rid of Temu or Shein spyware.
Temu or Shein PC/Mac Web Users
Windows
There will be numerous traces throughout the registry, browser and temp files.
We recommend the genuinely free Wise Disk Cleaner and Wise Registry Cleaner, as we have used them for many years. You can download these from its Download Centre (not any other site).
Wise Disk Cleaner (run this first) has many customisable settings. Use the defaults unless you know what you are doing. You should run the Common Cleaner, Advanced Cleaner, and System Slimming. Note that this may delete browser-stored passwords. We recommend you run this weekly.
Wise Registry Cleaner (run this next) makes a registry backup you can use if you have later issues like a program loading. Run Registry Cleaner and System Tuneup. It will not delete any entries that it considers unsafe.
MacOS
CCleaner – clean, optimise and tune your PC, Mac, Android and iOS, is a paid product that does much more than just clean out junk.
Or you can manually clean – instructions are here.
Finally, disconnect any social media links
Unlink any social media accounts like Facebook or Google that are used to log into Temu or it can continue to spy on you.
You do that at Facebook, TikTok, or your Google Account.
Can I request my data be removed?
Temu: You can try by sending an email to [email protected]
Shein: Contact [email protected]
CyberShack’s view – It is not just Temu or Shein – too many Apps data mine and monetise your data
We have discovered some shockers since we started reading the privacy policies and user terms for Apps.
Many obfuscate how your data is used and abused in multiple, nested, often conflicting, interlaced policies. One phone maker has eight policies and over 40,000 words to use a phone. Amazon (fortunately, its terms are relatively benign) has 15 different privacy policies and tens of thousands of words to use Alexa and its products. Has the world gone mad?
Google, on the other hand, has one simple English policy for all interactions with it. Read Can you trust Google? Yes, but it depends on your definition.
We leave you with a quote (and it is not just China that you must be concerned about).
Analyst Glenn Gerstell, senior advisor at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said,
Chinese parties ultimately control these apps, and the American political system will focus on that. Geopolitical tensions with China will continue to put Chinese apps under scrutiny.
