The Daily Vantage

Chrome is a capable browser out of the box, but its real potential shines when you start exploring the world of Chrome extensions. These add-ons can turn your browser into a productivity powerhouse, a content blocker, or even a gaming companion. However, not all extensions are created equal. While some enhance your browsing experience, others may compromise your privacy, security, or even your wallet.

Here are five popular Chrome extensions that might seem useful at first glance but come with serious drawbacks.

PayPal’s Honey

Honey promises to automatically find and apply coupon codes at checkout, saving users money without any effort. Sounds great, right? Unfortunately, there’s more to the story.

Investigations have revealed troubling practices behind the scenes. For example, YouTuber MegaLag uncovered evidence suggesting that Honey manipulated affiliate cookies, essentially stealing commissions from content creators who promoted products through affiliate links. Worse yet, it allegedly did this while being promoted by those very same YouTubers — meaning it was both paying them and taking money away from them simultaneously.

Additionally, reports indicate that Honey may have struck back-channel deals with retailers, using subpar coupons or claiming none were available so stores could earn more profit, which they might then share with Honey. This raises concerns about whether users were actually benefiting from the service at all. Although Honey has since lost millions of users and claims to have fixed some issues, the extension remains controversial.

Hola VPN

Free VPNs often come with hidden costs, and Hola is no exception. Unlike traditional services that route traffic through company-owned servers, Hola operates on a peer-to-peer model, using other users’ devices as exit nodes. That means your computer could be used by strangers to access potentially questionable websites, including those hosting illegal content.

This setup poses significant risks: if someone uses your IP address to visit problematic sites, your internet service provider (ISP) or even law enforcement might trace those activities back to you. Hola also uses outdated encryption protocols and lacks modern security features like WireGuard. Experts warn that this infrastructure makes users vulnerable to correlation attacks, where adversaries link online activity to your identity.

For better privacy and performance, consider investing in a reputable paid VPN service instead.

Grammarly

Grammarly has become synonymous with grammar-checking tools for Chrome. But despite its popularity, there are good reasons to reconsider its use.

To offer its AI-powered suggestions, Grammarly processes user text on remote servers. Even though it claims to encrypt and protect data, the fact remains that your writing isn’t processed locally — and the company doesn’t use end-to-end encryption. That means you’re placing a lot of trust in Grammarly to follow its own policies, something many companies fail to do consistently.

In 2018, a major vulnerability exposed the personal data of millions of users. And more recently, concerns have grown over whether Grammarly uses user input to train its AI models — even for paying customers, unless they explicitly opt out.

If privacy is a priority, consider alternatives like built-in spell checkers or more transparent grammar tools.

LastPass

Password managers are essential for maintaining strong online security, but LastPass has fallen from grace due to a series of high-profile breaches. In 2022, hackers stole encrypted vaults containing sensitive user data, exposing individuals to targeted phishing and brute-force attacks. Though LastPass insists master passwords weren’t compromised, the fallout continued as attackers later exploited vulnerabilities to steal cryptocurrency from users.

While LastPass still offers a convenient password-filling feature, safer alternatives exist. Options like Bitwarden, Google Password Manager, and 1Password provide stronger security records and excellent Chrome integration.

Adblock Plus

Adblock Plus is one of the most widely used ad blockers, but its “acceptable ads” program raises ethical concerns. The platform allows certain non-intrusive ads to pass through its filter — and larger advertisers can pay to have their ads whitelisted.

This creates a conflict of interest: Adblock Plus profits from showing ads while claiming to protect users from intrusive ones. Although users can disable the acceptable ads feature, many don’t know it exists or how to change it.

Moreover, Adblock Plus adapted easily to Chrome’s Manifest v3 update — a change that significantly limited the capabilities of other ad blockers like uBlock Origin. Critics argue that Google pushed this update to protect its own advertising business, and Adblock Plus’ compliance only reinforces that narrative.

If you’re looking for an uncompromised ad-blocking solution, consider alternatives like uBlock Origin Lite or Brave Browser’s native ad-blocking features.

Ultimately, while Chrome extensions can greatly enhance your browsing experience, it’s crucial to weigh convenience against privacy, security, and ethical considerations. Not every popular tool deserves a spot in your browser.