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    Honey has now lost 4M Chrome users after shady tactics were revealed

    (9to5google.com)
    657 points tantalor | 21 comments | 31 Mar 25 18:28 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source | bottom
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    elamje ◴[31 Mar 25 21:12 UTC] No.43540034[source]▶
    Have a friend high up at one of the “Big 3” in this space.

    The entire business model is predicated on injecting themselves as the last click for attribution even when they weren’t remotely responsible for the conversion. Cool business, but can’t keep going on forever without someone catching on.

    replies(11): >>43540055 #>>43540275 #>>43540359 #>>43540511 #>>43540903 #>>43541153 #>>43541439 #>>43542016 #>>43542427 #>>43542980 #>>43543090 #
    1. chatmasta ◴[31 Mar 25 21:14 UTC] No.43540055[source]▶
    I remember when this was called cookie stuffing, and eBay even sent a guy to jail for doing it with their affiliate program. That’s the same eBay that owned PayPal, which now owns Honey…
    replies(6): >>43540086 #>>43540174 #>>43540203 #>>43540507 #>>43541511 #>>43541574 #
    2. AlexandrB ◴[31 Mar 25 21:17 UTC] No.43540086[source]▶
    Do as I say not as I do.
    replies(1): >>43540182 #
    3. cyral ◴[31 Mar 25 21:26 UTC] No.43540174[source]▶
    Interesting, I found an article about it: https://www.businessinsider.com/shawn-hogan-sentenced-in-eba...
    replies(1): >>43540373 #
    4. gruez ◴[31 Mar 25 21:27 UTC] No.43540182[source]▶
    To be fair Paypal got spun out in 2015, far before they bought Honey, so there actually isn't any point in time where eBay was engaged in cookie stuffing.
    5. nightfly ◴[31 Mar 25 21:30 UTC] No.43540203[source]▶
    Now they can just avoid paying for affiliate links for anyone who has honey installed
    6. chatmasta ◴[31 Mar 25 21:51 UTC] No.43540373[source]▶
    Yeah he was also the owner of DigitalPoint if anyone remembers that forum and era.
    7. stevage ◴[31 Mar 25 22:09 UTC] No.43540507[source]▶
    Didn't the guy that ran Skeptoid go to jail for similar?
    replies(1): >>43540650 #
    8. nadir_ishiguro ◴[31 Mar 25 22:28 UTC] No.43540650[source]▶
    I'm sorry what? Skeptoid the podcast?

    Edit: Yes. In 2014. How did I miss that? Used to listen to that podcast, though probably stopped before that.

    replies(1): >>43540693 #
    9. grumbel ◴[31 Mar 25 22:35 UTC] No.43540693{3}[source]▶
    Yes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Dunning_(author)#Wire_fr...
    replies(1): >>43541145 #
    10. technothrasher ◴[31 Mar 25 23:28 UTC] No.43541145{4}[source]▶
    I remember at the time being less than surprised at the charges. Dunning always felt a little off to me, even though I did enjoy his podcast.
    11. maximus-decimus ◴[01 Apr 25 00:21 UTC] No.43541511[source]▶
    Considering eBay also had management that harassed people by mailing them live spiders and dead pig fetuses... https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ebay-pay-3-million-empl...
    replies(2): >>43541670 #>>43543190 #
    12. kevin_thibedeau ◴[01 Apr 25 00:31 UTC] No.43541574[source]▶
    It's totally different you see. This time the fraud was done by a faceless corporation maximizing shareholder returns so this is just an exercise in free speech by an immortal, in the same vein as running an unlicensed lottery.
    replies(1): >>43541694 #
    13. chris_wot ◴[01 Apr 25 00:47 UTC] No.43541670[source]▶
    Wow, the former Senior Director of Safety and Security was sent to prison for 57 months! That's some great work by eBay.

    https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/final-defendant-ebay-cybe...

    replies(1): >>43548151 #
    14. SamuelAdams ◴[01 Apr 25 00:52 UTC] No.43541694[source]▶
    Kind of like how most spyware is now called “employee monitoring tools”. This stuff used to be frowned upon but now I guess the narrative has changed.
    replies(2): >>43542563 #>>43544630 #
    15. brewtide ◴[01 Apr 25 03:32 UTC] No.43542563{3}[source]▶
    It was time to go back to the orifice....
    16. gorgoiler ◴[01 Apr 25 05:37 UTC] No.43543190[source]▶
    Aside, but NBC’s website is way better executed than I was expecting.

    Perhaps it changed recently, or I just never noticed? I was expecting 100MB with back button abuse and retention dark patterns. Instead, it loads fast, has minimal guff, and the footer scrolled into view ending the page within sight of the end of the actual article.

    Perhaps this is a reward response to not having to / be able to doom scroll?

    replies(1): >>43544187 #
    17. walthamstow ◴[01 Apr 25 08:24 UTC] No.43544187{3}[source]▶
    It's not great without uBlock but still much better than most others. No video!
    18. chii ◴[01 Apr 25 09:26 UTC] No.43544630{3}[source]▶
    if the computer belongs to the company, and you're using it as an employee, you should be told that such spyware is installed and your usage of said machines are monitored. Then there's no qualms about this at all.

    It's only an invasion of privacy if the monitoring is done in secret.

    replies(1): >>43550075 #
    19. runamok ◴[01 Apr 25 15:43 UTC] No.43548151{3}[source]▶
    Now share what happened to the CEO. Behind the bastards did a great 2 part series on the insane tale: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-behind-the-bastards-29236...
    20. kvlh ◴[01 Apr 25 18:38 UTC] No.43550075{4}[source]▶
    |It's only an invasion of privacy if the monitoring is done in secret.

    Uhhh... that seems very incorrect. If someone pokes their head into your shower session, it's an invasion of privacy - whether or not they let you know they're peepin on ya.

    replies(1): >>43553272 #
    21. thatguy0900 ◴[02 Apr 25 02:53 UTC] No.43553272{5}[source]▶
    The equivalent here is if it's a company shower, and your supposed to be cleaning an office appliance, not yourself. In that context someone poking their head on to see how it's going is fine.