Extension Developers Sell The Data of At Least 6.5 Million Users - And It’s All Completely Legal - LayerX
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Your Extensions Sell Your Data - And It's Perfectly Legal
  • A network of 24 media extensions that are installed on 800,000 users and collected viewing data and demographic information on major streaming platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, HBO, Apple TV, and others
  • 12 separate ad blockers with a combined install base of over 5.5 million users openly selling user data
  • Nearly 50 other extensions, with over 100,000 users in aggregate, that collected and resold users’ browsing data
    • XLE@piefed.socialEnglish
      7·
      3 hours ago

      People who aren’t experts in privacy and web browsing.

      1.6 million people installed this ad blocker that claims to be open-source, but has no published source code.

      Is it malware? Probably not.

      Is it worth installing? Hell no.

      Oh, and it’s a Firefox extension.

    • BigJohnnyHines@lemmy.caEnglish
      2·
      3 hours ago

      There are a LOT of people out there who honestly have no idea that a website is capable of collecting data. Maybe even the majority. The fact these numbers are not higher is due to most people sticking with defaults rather than them making a privacy decision.