Family of 11 same-codebase extensions (ChatGPT/Claude/Gemini/etc), ~5.5k users on the main one. Sold as local-only: the store listing says "No uploads to external servers," "Everything processed locally," "No tracking or telemetry."

Observed in the tested version:

• PDF export POSTs the full conversation to the developer's Cloud Run backend. A local renderer is bundled but only runs as a fallback.
• Markdown/Text/JSON exports beacon title + source URL to /api/usage. The title is derived from your first message, so it can contain chat content.
• Every request carries an X-Client-ID in chrome.storage.sync, so it follows you across machines.

Detection + full writeup: https://malext.io/reports/ExporTheft/

I've been reversing the 2M+ user Volume Booster Chrome extension and found something interesting.

Between v1.0.3 (2025-06-27) and v1.0.4 (2025-07-02), the extension added:

"content_scripts": [{ "matches": ["<all_urls>"], "js": [ "vendor/GiveFreely-content.umd.js", "content-script.js" ] }] 

The previous version was essentially a small audio booster. The newer version introduces a Give Freely / Wildlink component that appears to support merchant detection, affiliate attribution, and donation campaigns.

No new permissions were added, meaning existing users would have received the update automatically without a new Chrome permission approval prompt.

I've also found the same Give Freely / Wildlink infrastructure in multiple unrelated extensions, which makes me think it's being distributed as a white-label monetization/fundraising SDK.

I'm still investigating and considering whether this is worth adding to MalExt. At this point I don't have evidence of malware, credential theft, or anything overtly malicious just a significant expansion of functionality in a 2M-user extension.

Curious what others think. Is this a transparency/privacy concern, or just a normal extension monetization model? Any opinions or prior research on Give Freely / Wildlink would be appreciated so i can added to malext.io

Two Chrome extensions presenting as adblockers also intercept every prompt and response on ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, Grok, Perplexity, DeepSeek, and Meta AI, exfiltrating them to operator-controlled servers.

They also check whether you're a paid user on 5 of the 8 platforms
(ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Copilot, Gemini).

Both share the same capture engine, payload format, and partnerId.

Two brands, one operation.

• Smart Adblocker - Chrome Web Store `iojpcjjdfhlcbgjnpngcmaojmlokmeii`, 80k users
• Adblock for Browser - Chrome Web Store `jcbjcocinigpbgfpnhlpagidbmlngnnn`, 10k users

Report covers the IOCs, live remote config, reproduction curl, and full target breakdown.

Full write-up: MalExt Sentry - Malicious Browser Extension Tracker

Chrome Web Store abuse reports filed.