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LinkedIn is searching your browser extensions

browsergate.eu

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Re: LinkedIn is searching your browser extensions

#181
post #14

The headline seems pretty misleading. Here’s what seems to actually be going on: > Every time you open LinkedIn in a Chrome-based browser, LinkedIn’s JavaScript executes a silent scan of your installed browser extensions. The scan probes for thousands of specific extensions by ID, collects the results, encrypts them, and transmits them to LinkedIn’s servers. This does seem invasive. It also seems like what I’d expect…

> "they're checking to see if you're a Muslim"

This could be easily inferred from the depth, breadth, and interconnectedness of data in the website.

By downplaying it, it's allowing it to exist and do the very thing.

The issue here is this stuff is working likely despite ad blockers.

Fingerprinting technology can do a lot more than just what can be learned from ads.

From the site:

"The scan doesn’t just look for LinkedIn-related tools. It identifies whether you use an Islamic content filter (PordaAI — “Blur Haram objects, real-time AI for Islamic values”), whether you’ve installed an anti-Zionist political tagger (Anti-Zionist Tag), or a tool designed for neurodivergent users (simplify). Under GDPR Article 9, processing data that reveals religious beliefs, political opinions, or health conditions requires explicit consent. LinkedIn obtains none." https://browsergate.eu/extensions/

Re: LinkedIn is searching your browser extensions

#182
post #14

The headline seems pretty misleading. Here’s what seems to actually be going on: > Every time you open LinkedIn in a Chrome-based browser, LinkedIn’s JavaScript executes a silent scan of your installed browser extensions. The scan probes for thousands of specific extensions by ID, collects the results, encrypts them, and transmits them to LinkedIn’s servers. This does seem invasive. It also seems like what I’d expect…

> this is why I run ad blockers. It's pretty wild that we live in a world where the actual FBI has recommended we use ad blockers to protect ourselves, and if everyone actually listened, much of the Internet (and economy) as we know it would disappear. The FBI is like "you should protect yourself from the way that the third largest company in the world does business", and the average person's response is "nah, that w…

Ad blockers focus on ads, not fingerprinting.

Re: LinkedIn is searching your browser extensions

#184
post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> this is why I run ad blockers. It's pretty wild that we live in a world where the actual FBI has recommended we use ad blockers to protect ourselves, and if everyone actually listened, much of the Internet (and economy) as we know it would disappear. The FBI is like "you should protect yourself from the way that the third largest company in the world does business", and the average person's response is "nah, that w…

Ad blockers focus on ads, not fingerprinting.

Depends on what lists you use. If you use uBlock Origin, and enable most of the lists, it'll target both.

Re: LinkedIn is searching your browser extensions

#185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree, I think we should push back hard on behavior like this. What business is it of LinkedIn's what browser extensions I have installed? I think the framing for this is appropriate.

> What business is it of LinkedIn's what browser extensions I have installed? The list of extensions they scan for has been extracted from the code. It was all extensions related to spamming and scraping LinkedIn last time this was posted: Extensions to scrape your LinkedIn session and extract contact info for lead lists, extensions to generate AI message spam. That seems like fair game for their business.

Sounds a little like "OpenAI must protect itself against copyright infringement by any means necessary, including copyright infringement of everyone else"

Re: LinkedIn is searching your browser extensions

#186
post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ad blockers focus on ads, not fingerprinting.

Depends on what lists you use. If you use uBlock Origin, and enable most of the lists, it'll target both.

Go try it with fingerprint.com. Even post-sanitization, pi-hole, you name it, it will be surprising.

Re: LinkedIn is searching your browser extensions

#188
post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> this is why I run ad blockers. It's pretty wild that we live in a world where the actual FBI has recommended we use ad blockers to protect ourselves, and if everyone actually listened, much of the Internet (and economy) as we know it would disappear. The FBI is like "you should protect yourself from the way that the third largest company in the world does business", and the average person's response is "nah, that w…

Ad blockers focus on ads, not fingerprinting.

[deleted]

Re: LinkedIn is searching your browser extensions

#189

This title should be changed as no court found this is illegal, and this is pretty standard, if extensive, browser fingerprinting, however disagreeable it is

I agree.

I'm not convinced by their page explaining "Why it's illegal and potentially criminal" [0]. It's written by security researchers and non-attorneys.

For example, this characterization seems overly broad:

> The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled, in three separate cases, that data which allows someone to infer or deduce protected characteristics is covered by this prohibition, regardless of whether the company intended to collect sensitive data.

[0] https://browsergate.eu/why-its-illegal/

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