Privacy News Chrome Extensions, Android and iOS Apps Caught Collecting Browsing Data (list inside)

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Content source

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/chrome-extensions-android-and-ios-apps-caught-collecting-browsing-data/

An investigation by AdGuard, an ad-blocking platform, has revealed a common link between several Chrome and Firefox extensions and Android & iOS apps that were caught collecting highly personal user data through various shady tactics.

The common link between all extensions and mobile apps is a company named Big Star Labs. AdGuard says this company is behind the development of the following tools, which include:

Chrome extensions:
Block Site (also available as a Firefox add-on)
Poper Blocker (also available as a Firefox add-on)
CrxMouse

Android apps:
Speed BOOSTER
Battery Saver
AppLock | Privacy Protector
Clean Droid
Block Site
Mobile health club apps

iOS apps:
Adblock Prime

AdGuard estimates these apps had been installed on around 11 million devices.

Apps, extensions should be taken down

Meshkov claims these apps and extensions are in the same position as the Stylish extension, which was recently removed from the Mozilla and Chrome extension stores for secretly logging users' browser history.

Furthermore, the apps and extensions are also in clear violation in regards to the EU's latest GDPR privacy law because they do not ask for explicit consent to collect all this information.

Last but not least, the garbled privacy policies don't make it clear what exact data the extensions and apps collect, what's "personal" or "non-personal" data for Big Star Labs, or with who and how Big Star Labs shares this data with other companies.

Under normal circumstances, Mozilla and Google should intervene and remove these apps after confirming AdGuard's findings. The iOS app, which AdGuard first discovered pulling off shady tactics last September but did not know it was part of a larger arsenal of intrusive apps, is not available on the Apple App Store, hence, Apple can't really do anything about it.

 

[Moonhorse]

Surprised about poper blocker, anyways pop-up blocker standalones are kinda useless this day

 

[roger_m]

I see that Poper Blocker is back in the Chrome Web Store again. It's still not available in Firefox.

 

[lancer502]

The worst part of this is the amount of people who have installed these extensions :\

 

[Adz.]

these memory cleaner,cache cleaner apps are shady, never install em. google dont give 2 shits about their play store and extension store lol. just look at the amount of shady apps there on play store

 

[Moonhorse]

The worst part of this is the amount of people who have installed these extensions :\

worst part is the amount of people installing any application without reading permissions are given without reading

Every app collects some kind of data

Also poper blocker had option to turn off the data collecting(?)

 

[roger_m]

Also poper blocker had option to turn off the data collecting(?)

Yes and you can still turn it off.

 

[TairikuOkami]

I see that Poper Blocker is back in the Chrome Web Store again. It's still not available in Firefox.

Thanks for heads up, I am glad it is back. They made it dead obvious now, I guess it was the condition to get it back to chrome store.