#Ipvanish free extension for chrome android#
In this case, the third-party advertiser with whom the data is being shared is also the same.Ĭurrently, there are two Android apps (there could be more) with millions of installs are collecting user data such as:įast – Social App: This app claims to be an alternative and free client to manage Facebook accounts. In fact, it continues and in the second phase, highly popular Android apps on Google Play store are collecting the same user data as discussed in case of Chrome extensions. The data collecting saga does not end here. Here is a list of Android apps collecting Facebook user data and sharing advertisers: List of Android apps collecting & sharing user data Facebook users location data in a plain-text format (Image credit: Adguard) This location data includes Facebook user’s IP address, mobile device location, city, state, and country.
Once the collection is complete the spyware sends the data to an Amazon web service (AWS) S3 bucket in a hashed form while the location data is sent in plain-text format. Furthermore, these extensions attempt to collect user purchase history including credit or debit card related activity – This itself is enough evidence for Google to remove these extensions from Chrome store. Pixcam – Webcam Effects extension has over 26,000 installs and claims to be a “webcam effects application, which allows users to make photo effects and filtering easy.” A look at its review section shows the extension does not work for the majority of users which indicates that its sole purpose is to collect user data from their browser activity and share with a third party.Īccording to Meshkov, these spyware extensions work in such a way that once a user is logged into their Facebook account, they scrape all their data immediately after the browser startup.
Its developers claim to provide an authentic Facebook album manager service, however, a look at its review section reveals the extension actually does nothing other than collecting user data and sharing it with a third party.
#Ipvanish free extension for chrome pdf#
PDF Merge – PDF Files Merger extension with over 125,000 installs claims to allow users “take their separated pdf files and merge them into one PDF file easily, fast, efficient and most important.” A look at its review section shows the extension is quite popular and doing what is claims but according to its privacy policy reviewed by AdGuard, it does more than it offers by collecting user data including Facebook credentials and other personal data and share it with a third party.Īlbum & Photo Manager For Facebook extension has been installed on over 91,000 people. A look at its reviews shows the extension indeed downloads Facebook videos but what users are not aware of the fact is that it constantly snoops on their online activities, collects and shares their personal data. Video Downloader For Facebook extension has been installed by over 170,000 users. Unfortunately, each extension has been installed on thousands of browsers such as:
List of Chrome extensions collecting & sharing user dataĪccording to AdGuard’s findings, currently, there are four Chrome extensions (there could be more) collecting user data and sharing it with a third-party advertiser who sells the data further to other parties for revenue. It must be noted that the campaign is not limited to Facebook data but also collects browsing history, including all the regular and sponsored Facebook posts, tweets, YouTube videos, and ads. More: Sensitive myPersonality App Data of Millions of Facebook Users Exposed The campaign was exposed by Andrey Meshkov, Co-founder of Adguard, who dubbed it as a “huge spyware campaign.” According to Meshkov, the campaign is currently being utilized to steal data through popular Chrome extensions and Android apps used by millions of users worldwide. In a recent campaign, a third-party advertiser (who has been named later in the article) has been found not only collecting data from Facebook users but also their browser history and location-related information. The data collection is not limited to Facebook but also targets browsing history, including all the regular and sponsored Facebook posts, tweets, YouTube videos, and ads.įacebook is undoubtedly the number one social media website in the world and home to personal data of over 2.19 billion users worldwide – That makes it a lucrative target for malicious hackers, cybercriminals, state-sponsored agencies and most importantly advertisers.Īfter the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook vowed to limit data collection for third-party advertisers but it is evident that these advertisers always find ways to collect user data.
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