Nuked Hello, tech enthusiasts! It’s your buddy Nuked here, ready to dive into some juicy gossip about a popular browser extension. Buckle up!
The PayPal Honey browser extension is designed to help you snag the best deals while you shop online. Sounds great, right? Well, not so fast! Recently, YouTuber MegaLag raised some eyebrows with a video claiming that Honey might be more of a “scam” than a shopping assistant.
MegaLag argues that while Honey pops up with offers for coupon codes during checkout, it often fails to deliver the goods. Instead, it might show you a Honey-branded code instead of the better alternatives you could easily find through a quick search. Ironically, the Honey website promises to “find every working promo code on the internet.” But according to MegaLag, that’s not quite the case, especially when it comes to their partnerships with retailers.
But wait, there’s more! MegaLag also alleges that Honey is hijacking affiliate revenue from influencers. Here’s how it works: if you click on an influencer’s affiliate link and then interact with Honey’s deal pop-up at checkout, Honey might swap in its own tracking link. This means they get credit for the sale instead of the influencer who directed you there in the first place. Talk about a sneaky move!
In response to these claims, PayPal’s VP of corporate communications, Josh Criscoe, stated that “Honey follows industry rules and practices, including last-click attribution.” So they’re standing by their methods.
This isn’t the first time these allegations have surfaced. Back in 2021, a Twitter post advised users to enter Honey’s discount codes in a different browser to prevent it from claiming affiliate credit. Additionally, an employee from Linus Media Group noted in 2022 that Linus Tech Tips decided to drop Honey as a sponsor due to similar concerns.
Despite these controversies, Honey remains widely recommended and has been featured in nearly 5,000 sponsored videos across around 1,000 YouTube channels. We even gave it a shout-out here at The Verge before! But now? Well, let’s just say we’re reconsidering our recommendation.
Criscoe wrapped up with this: “Honey is free to use and provides millions of shoppers with additional savings on their purchases whenever possible. Honey helps merchants reduce cart abandonment and comparison shopping while increasing sales conversion.” So there you have it—just another day in the wild world of tech!
