Browser extensions with 8 million users caught secretly harvesting AI conversations
11 Sources
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Browser extensions with 8 million users collect extended AI conversations
Browser extensions with more than 8 million installs are harvesting complete and extended conversations from users' AI conversations and selling them for marketing purposes, according to data collected from the Google and Microsoft pages hosting them. Security firm Koi discovered the eight
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Uninstall Now: These Chrome Browser Extensions Are Stealing AI Chat Logs
A handful of Chrome extensions have been harvesting entire conversation logs of users' interactions with the most popular AI chatbots. As reported by cybersecurity firm Koi, these extensions primarily offer free proxies and VPNs, but appear to be doing far more than that behind the scenes. Any
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Chrome, Edge privacy extensions quietly snarf AI chats
More than 8 million people have installed extensions that eavesdrop on chatbot interactions Ad blockers and VPNs are supposed to protect your privacy, but four popular browser extensions have been doing just the opposite. According to research from Koi Security, these pernicious plug-ins have been
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These popular browser extensions protecting your AI chats were actually copying them
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. A hot potato: Several widely installed browser extensions endorsed by both Google and Microsoft secretly captured detailed user interactions with AI chat platforms. According to findings released by
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This VPN is harvesting your AI conversations - and 6 million people are using it
Every prompt you enter and every response you receive is being collected and shared - so avoid this VPN at all costs New research has discovered Urban VPN's browser extension collects, shares, and sells your highly sensitive personal data. An investigation by Koi discovered the browser extension
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This Google Chrome extension has been silently stealing every AI prompt its users enter
Several related Urban extensions perform the same large‑scale data collection A popular Google Chrome browser extension has been found to be harvesting anything its users prompted into most of the biggest AI tools around, as well as collecting the chatbot's responses, all apparently in order to
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Featured Chrome extension could be copying your AI chats
Koi Security says the extension captured AI chat traffic even when its protection features were turned off, despite language about privacy in its listing. A security warning is a nasty surprise, especially when the add-on in question claims it exists to protect your privacy. Researchers at Koi
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Millions of Private ChatGPT Conversations Are Being Harvested and Sold for Profit
You know those memes about how there's no such thing as a free VPN? Here's the ultimate cautionary tale. A recent investigation by Tel Aviv-based security firm Koi uncovered a massive data harvesting operation tied to a voluntary extension on Google's Chrome browser. Called Urban VPN Proxy, the
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Google-featured VPN extension harvested and sold ChatGPT and Claude conversations
A Tel Aviv-based security firm, Koi, investigated Urban VPN Proxy, a Google Chrome extension with six million users and a featured badge from Google. The probe revealed executor scripts harvesting user conversations from AI platforms for sale to data brokers. Koi researcher Idan Dardikman detailed
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This Chrome extension has 7 million subscribers, and it could be spying on you
A privacy-focused Chrome extension installed by more than seven million people worldwide has gone rogue and is stealing your AI chatbot conversations from under your nose. The extension, Urban VPN Proxy, actually has a Chrome Featured badge, which should mean it follows Google's best practices on
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These Chrome and Edge browser extensions steal your AI chats, delete them now
Google and Microsoft face scrutiny over extension store oversight This is a cautionary tale for all of you who install extensions to Chrome or add-ons to Edge browsers willy-nilly. Security firm Koi has revealed that browser extensions with more than 8 million combined users are quietly collecting
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Popular browser extensions marketed as VPNs and ad blockers are intercepting and selling complete AI chatbot conversations from millions of users. Cybersecurity firm Koi discovered eight extensions, including Urban VPN Proxy with 6 million installs, that capture every prompt and response from platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. The data is transmitted to third-party marketing firms, with no way to disable collection except complete uninstallation.
Browser Extensions Collecting AI Conversations from Millions
Browser extensions installed more than 8 million times are secretly harvesting user conversations from AI chat platforms and selling them for marketing purposes, according to cybersecurity firm Koi Security
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. The eight extensions, discovered by Koi, remained available in both Google's Chrome Web Store and Microsoft Edge add-ons stores as of late Tuesday night. Seven carried "Featured" badges—official endorsements suggesting the software met quality and security standards3
. The free extensions promise functions like VPN routing and ad blocking while assuring users their data remains anonymous and isn't shared beyond described uses.How Data Harvesting Works Through Executor Scripts
An examination of the extensions' underlying code reveals a sophisticated interception mechanism. Each extension contains eight executor scripts, uniquely designed for ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity, DeepSeek, Grok, and Meta AI
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. These scripts inject themselves into webpages whenever users visit any of the targeted AI chat platforms. The scripts override built-in browser functions for making network requests and receiving responses—specifically fetch() and XMLHttpRequest APIs3
. "By overriding the [browser APIs], the extension inserts itself into that flow and captures a copy of everything before the page even displays it," explained Koi CTO Idan Dardikman1
. All interaction between the browser and AI chatbot interactions is routed through the executor script rather than legitimate browser APIs, allowing complete capture of AI conversations in raw form.
Source: TechSpot
Urban VPN Proxy Leading the Data Collection Effort
Koi first discovered the conversation harvesting in Urban VPN Proxy, which lists "AI protection" as one of its advertised benefits
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. The popular Chrome extensions began collecting conversation logs in early July with version 5.5.0. Urban VPN Proxy alone accounts for 6 million users on Chrome and 1.32 million on Microsoft Edge1
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Source: MakeUseOf
The extension captures every prompt users send, every response received, conversation identifiers and timestamps, session metadata, and the specific AI platform and model used
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. "Anyone who used ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or the other targeted platforms while Urban VPN was installed after July 9, 2025 should assume those conversations are now on Urban VPN's servers and have been shared with third parties," Koi warned1
.Privacy Risks and Marketing Analytics Purposes
The data harvesting presents significant privacy risks as AI conversations often contain deeply personal information about users' physical and mental health, finances, personal relationships, and other sensitive details
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. Medical questions, financial details, proprietary code, and personal dilemmas are all captured and sold for marketing analytics purposes1
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Source: The Register
The executor script runs independently from VPN networking, ad blocking, or other core functionality, meaning that even when users toggle off these features, stealing AI chat logs continues
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. The only way to stop data collection is to disable the extension in browser settings or uninstall it completely2
.BiScience Connection and Third-Party Data Sharing
All eight extensions trace back to Urban Cyber Security, which advertises its apps as being used by 100 million people worldwide. The privacy policy identifies BiScience (also listed as B.I Science) as an affiliated partner that "uses this raw data and creates insights which are commercially used and shared with Business Partners". BiScience's own policy states its services "transform enormous volumes of digital signals into clear, actionable market intelligence". The extensions compress captured data and send it to endpoints at analytics.urban-vpn.com and stats.urban-vpn.com
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. While Urban VPN does disclose AI data collection in its 6,000-word privacy policy, stating it will "collect the prompts and outputs queried by the End-User" and "disclose the AI prompts for marketing analytics purposes," this disclosure contradicts Chrome Web Store claims that data isn't sold to third parties.Related Stories
Complete List of Affected Extensions
Following the Urban VPN Proxy discovery, Koi Security uncovered seven additional extensions with identical AI harvesting functionality
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. On Chrome Web Store: Urban VPN Proxy (6 million users), 1ClickVPN Proxy (600,000 users), Urban Browser Guard (40,000 users), and Urban Ad Blocker (10,000 users). On Microsoft Edge: Urban VPN Proxy (1.32 million users), 1ClickVPN Proxy (36,459 users), Urban Browser Guard (12,624 users), and Urban Ad Blocker (6,476 users)1
. All extensions have since been removed from Chrome Web Store but remain on Edge Store, where 1ClickVPN Proxy is still listed as "Featured"2
.Questions About Platform Review Standards
The incident raises concerns about how Google and Microsoft review extensions before granting Featured status. "This means a human at Google reviewed Urban VPN Proxy and concluded it met their standards," Dardikman noted. "Either the review didn't examine the code that harvests conversations from Google's own AI product (Gemini), or it did and didn't consider this a problem"
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. Chrome Web Store policies explicitly prohibit transferring or selling user data to third-party data brokers like BiScience3
. However, a loophole in Google's Limited Use policy allows data transfer for limited scenarios that bad actors exploit by falsely claiming exceptions through user consent or security features3
. Users who installed Urban VPN prior to July 2025 never saw any consent prompt, which was added via silent update3
.What Users Should Watch For
Cybersecurity experts warn this case exemplifies risks of free tools. "The Urban VPN story is a classic example of what happens when people put blind trust in 'free' tools. If you don't know how a tool makes money, assume it's monetising your data," said Sam Soares, Chief Revenue Officer at CultureAI
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. Koi recommends anyone with these extensions installed should uninstall them immediately and assume any AI conversations since July 2025 have been captured and shared with third parties2
. Users concerned about collected data can sign up for data removal services that contact data brokers and submit deletion requests5
. This incident underscores the need to thoroughly investigate browser extensions before installation and be mindful of what information gets shared with AI tools, as combining questionable AI company data practices with malicious browser extensions creates compounding privacy risks5
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