Dark truth behind Temu ‘free cash giveaway’ taking over the internet

It seemed like everyone was suddenly making bag yesterday as screenshots began to flood social media showing people’s latest transaction.

Out of nowhere yesterday, Instagram stories seemed to fill up with people showing off the £50 they’d had into their account from Temu.

A ‘free cash giveaway’ from the online shopping site sent social media absolutely wild.

The marketplace is known for its almost ‘too good to be true’ deals with heavily discounted goods typically shipped over to shoppers from China.

But even people who don’t normally shop on Temu were hoping to make the most of this latest scheme for an extra payday.

On its basis, the ‘free cash giveaway’ means users could get ‘free cash’ simply by getting one of your mates to sign up using your link.

Getty Stock Photo

All you’ve got to do is sign up, create an account on the app and then send out the invitation codes to your pals. Once one of them signs up, you both get a nice 50 quid in your PayPal.

Yeah, all sounds pretty nice right?

Well, a deeper look into the ‘rules’ will reveal the dark truth behind this ‘free cash giveaway’.

As reported by Indy100, the terms and conditions of this scheme mean the marketplace can ‘cancel, change, suspend, or modify any aspect of the Program at any time, including, without limitation, the availability of any Rewards or other benefits without notice’.

There’s also a time limit on being able to secure the cash as from the time of a Member’s Program enrolment in the Program, you’ve got 24 hours to get someone to sign up. The company can also reject giving you the cash and instead offer it as Temu credits.

Temu

But this is where it really gets dark, if you do the scheme, you’re essentially giving Temu access to a lot of your data for advertising and promotion.

The T&Cs read: “Except to the extent prohibited by applicable law, participation in the Program and/or receipt or use of Rewards constitutes a Member’s consent for Sponsor to use and publish such Member’s photo, name likeness, voice, opinions, statements, biographical information, and/or hometown and state for promotional or advertising purposes in any media worldwide, now known or hereafter developed, in perpetuity without further review, notification, payment, or consideration."

So yeah, as always, take a minute to read the small print when you sign up to these things and basically give away all your info for £50.

A Temu spokesperson told LADbible: "Temu gathers user information solely for the purpose of delivering our service and to enhance customer experience.

"We do not sell user information. The terms and conditions highlighted are commonplace in similar promotions held by various companies across different sectors."

Topics: Social Media, Viral, Money, China

Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

@jessbattison_