Data App Pulls Out of Nigerian Market, Cites 95 Percent Fraud Rate Traced to Nigerian Users

Kled AI, an opt-in marketplace that pays users for contributing data to train artificial intelligence systems, has temporarily withdrawn its app from Nigeria’s App Store and blocked access from the region.

The company says the move is a response to widespread fraudulent activity and a surge in low-quality or fake submissions.

Founder Avi Patel announced the decision in a post on X on Monday, explaining that a large portion of uploads from Nigeria consisted of unusable content.

These included black-screen images, duplicated files, content sourced from the internet, and AI-generated materials rather than original, valid data.

Despite compensating users for contributions, Patel said the platform recorded an estimated 95% fraud rate from Nigeria.

This contrasts sharply with countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, where fraud rates remain below 10% even with significantly larger user bases.

According to Patel, Kled has been operating beta for four months, during which time it has paid hundreds of thousands of contributors and processed over one billion uploaded assets globally.

However, the scale and sophistication of fraudulent activity in Nigeria have posed increasing challenges.

He noted that the company’s fraud detection systems were effective but were being overwhelmed by increasingly complex schemes.

The situation escalated further when Kled’s identity verification (KYC) system was inundated over a single weekend with thousands of fake Japanese passports and ID cards that had been digitally altered.

Patel described this incident as the tipping point, prompting the company to suspend operations in the region.

He added that maintaining the platform under such conditions was financially unsustainable due to the cost of processing and filtering invalid data.

The decision followed weeks of inquiries and complaints from Nigerian users seeking clarity on the app’s removal.

Patel emphasized that the suspension is temporary, allowing the company to strengthen its fraud detection and moderation systems before considering a return.

He also addressed speculation that the move was a publicity stunt, dismissing such claims and stating that the company has no incentive to block a market it intends to grow.

He reiterated that the action was necessary to protect the platform’s integrity and maintain trust with AI partners.

Additionally, Patel warned users about a fake Android version of the app currently circulating, noting that Kled is only officially available on iOS.

The company has reported the impersonating app for removal Kled’s model allows users to voluntarily submit photos, videos, and documents for AI training in exchange for payment.

Patel stressed that the platform does not extract data without consent and is built on the principle of fair compensation.

Before the suspension, Kled had gained significant traction in Nigeria, reaching the top 100 on the App Store multiple times within four months and attracting over 25,000 local users.

However, internal analysis of a 10-million-upload sample from Nigeria revealed that approximately 94.2% of submissions were fraudulent—either AI-generated, manipulated, plagiarized, or otherwise invalid.

Patel warned that such data could undermine confidence from AI labs relying on the platform.

He concluded that while the company values its genuine Nigerian users, the current level of abuse is too high to sustain operations.

A return to the market will depend on the effectiveness of improved safeguards against fraudulent activity.