this post was submitted on 23 Dec 2024
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πŸ–• Fuck PayPal

And fuck Linus Tech Tips for intentionally keeping quiet about this after they found out.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Why do I feel like mentioning the LTT was very personal?πŸ˜‚

[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

They're one of the largest tech media companies and deliberately chose to sweep this under the rug instead of reporting on it. Then they took sponsorships from Karma, which is a competitor to Honey that does the exact same thing.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

No, they are not one of largest tech media companies They have less than what 100 employees. Maybe you used the wrong term?

When did they learn about it? Where your proof?

  • It's the holidays and a lot of content of made awhile, I don't expect them to make dedicated statement.
[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 hours ago

When did they learn about it? Where your proof?

Watch the video.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 9 hours ago

I haven't trusted LTT for about 5 years now.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

Ever since it was explained that Mr. Beast only smiles with his mouth, I get skeeved out every time I see him.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Mr Beast literally shadow banned the word teeth from his YT comments. It's hilarious.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 hours ago

It's a shame too, I really miss all the great tooth related discussions we used to have there.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 hours ago

Oh... THAT's what's off!

[–] [email protected] 23 points 12 hours ago

Just saw a video that the honey people are making another SCAM called PIE. They make an Ad blocker, then put their own ads. wtf.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/VTxnM3J0I0k?width=828&height=466

[–] [email protected] 23 points 13 hours ago

Just open their privacy policy and done. They sell your browsing info, and you could stop it there

[–] [email protected] 36 points 17 hours ago (3 children)

I'm so proud I never consumed these guys shit

[–] [email protected] 22 points 15 hours ago (4 children)

Was it all that surprising to you though?

By the time honey hit the scene we had been ten years into "sketchy Browser extension that monitors your browsing habits and injects ads"

I guess getting flogged by your favorite influencer ads a veneer of legitimacy for a lot of people.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 13 hours ago

I never trust browser extensions outside of a select few. However, I have used Paypal quite a bit. I would think many of us have.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago) (1 children)

Wait, when did Paypal buy Honey? 😳

[–] [email protected] 25 points 14 hours ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 hours ago

And Honey has always worked like this. So PayPal knew exactly what they were buying which explains the price tag. Paypal knew they were going to make their money back and then some.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 hours ago

Can we make a version of this add-on that replaces the links with a choice of charity links?

Might as well do some good in the chaos of the internet.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

I guess most people don’t have much knowledge about affiliate link URLs and how easily they can be rewritten to shift where the commission goes. I implemented SkimLinks on a hunch of websites so I’ve seen it before. Forum owners used to get upset about anyone posting product links in their comments because they night include an affiliate code. SkimLinks adds JavaScript to every page that rewrites those codes to the forum owner’s personal account. It will even insert an affiliate code into basic Amazon links that don’t have one. Once this came out, forums went a lot easier on Amazon links.

After seeing all this, the second I spot a browser extension that wants to get between me and Amazon, I immediately assume they will rewrite all the links for their own benefit. Otherwise what’s in it for them? This news isn’t much of a surprise.

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[–] [email protected] 35 points 18 hours ago (4 children)

If something advertises on youtube it’s a scam. Simple to remember really.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 hours ago

Is nebula also a scam? I saw it sponsored on lots of youtube channels.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 hours ago

This isn't even remotely true. There are lots of advertisers and sponsors that aren't scams. But unfortunately our consumer protection laws haven't quite caught up to the digital marketplace. So there is a lot of room on the internet in general for scammy behavior.

As always, it's buyer beware. As well as a big amount of content creator beware as well.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago) (2 children)

I don't mind things that are an actual thing to buy. I want to research it first--you can get a better electric razor than Manscaped for not much more--but at least it's clear how they make their money. Honey was obviously getting money from someone other than their users, and that's an immediate red flag.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 hours ago

I and many other people naturally assumed that honey was getting their money from consumer data collection. Which is why I didn't use the service myself. The surprise is the fact that the scam isn't just consumer data collection but actually stealing commissions from content creators as well as using consumers as a gateway to stealing money from businesses that they have contracts with.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 13 hours ago

Yeah. PayPal bought a coupon browser extension for how much? If the only thing they do is save YOU money, how come they can afford a sponsored segment in a mr beast video?

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