Picked a free browser extension over a paid privacy plan and it cost me in a weird way

I chose to use a free VPN extension instead of paying $12 a month for a full service. For two months I thought I was safe browsing on public wifi at my local library in Austin. Then I checked what data the extension was actually collecting and found out it was selling my browsing history to ad companies. Has anyone else run into a free tool that turned out to be worse than just using no protection at all?

3 comments

3 Comments

ivanbell8d ago

Dude that sucks, I had the exact same thing happen with a free ad blocker. I installed one from some random Chrome store listing and after a week my CPU was pinned at 100%. Looked it up and it was crypto mining in the background the whole time lol. Total joke how these free tools are just bait for way worse stuff. Made me go back to just using the built in browser stuff and my brain for safety.

the_sam8d ago

@ivanbell raises a good point but I gotta ask the real question. Did you check what permissions you gave that extension before installing? Most people just hit "allow" without reading a single line. That's on you man. A free VPN that asks for access to your browsing history on every site? Huge red flag. I've seen extensions ask for "read and change all data on websites" and people still click yes. You basically handed them the keys to your digital life then got mad they drove the car.

patricia2628d ago

Nah man I gotta disagree a little on this one lol. Yeah people should read permissions but let's be real, Chrome makes it super confusing to understand what "read and change all data" even means in practice. @ivanbell's crypto mining story is exactly why we shouldn't just blame users for being careless. These extensions are designed to trick you with vague language and urgent popups, not educate you. Plus a lot of folks aren't tech savvy and just see "free VPN" and think they're being smart about privacy. The whole system is stacked against regular people honestly.