In wake of scandal, Google clamps down on Chrome shopping extensions

Late last year, there was a big scandal involving the Honey browser extension, which wasn’t helping users find the best deals and coupons as it so claimed to do. Instead, it was swapping out affiliate links and stealing potential commissions from influencers and creators.

Following that revelation, Google is now tightening the rules for shopping extensions in the Chrome Web Store.

In short, affiliate links, coupon codes, and cookies can now only be included in the extension if they provide a direct and clear benefit to users when they shop. For example, extensions can’t insert links unless they lead to real discounts or cash back on purchases. Extensions also can’t update your shopping cookies or inject affiliate links on web pages without explicitly notifying you.

While the Honey scandal mainly affected influencers and creators — not Joe Schmoe who’s just browsing the web — this is generally good news as you can be more sure that extensions are doing what they claim.

Further reading: I hope Google does lose ownership of Chrome