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Researchers allege that Poper Blocker, a Chrome popup and ad-blocking extension with more than 2 million users, covertly collects complete browsing URLs and referrers, AI-chat content, advertising and social-media data, and browser-fingerprint information. The extension reportedly contains an obfuscated interpreter that retrieves remotely hosted programs and a command dictionary from api.pbapi.xyz, allowing its operator to change collection and exfiltration behavior without submitting a new Chrome Web Store-reviewed update. Researchers also reported that the same remote capability can inspect page content, HTTP request and response bodies, and WebSocket traffic; capture page-region screenshots; compress collected data; and upload it to destinations selected by the server.
The report describes delayed payload delivery, sandbox and automation detection, consent gates, code obfuscation, and use of a cross-device identifier drawn from Chrome Sync storage as anti-analysis and tracking measures. Poper Blocker reportedly remained featured and verified in the Chrome Web Store after an earlier May report alleged AI-chat scraping, while its Microsoft Edge listing is said to use the same remote configuration. If confirmed, the reported data collection and remotely alterable behavior would conflict with Chrome Web Store Limited Use requirements, which limit Google API-derived user data to disclosed, single user-facing purposes and prohibit undisclosed transfers, advertising use, and other restricted processing.
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Google's Chrome Web Store Limited Use policy set minimum privacy requirements for extension user data, restricting use, transfer, sale, advertising use, and human access to such data.
A technical report alleged that the Poper Blocker extension collects full browsing URLs, AI-chat content, advertising and social-media data, and browser-fingerprint information. It described a remotely controlled interpreter and payload system that can alter collection and upload behavior without a Chrome Web Store extension update.
Researchers reported that Google was publicly notified about allegations that Poper Blocker scraped AI-chat data. The report states that the extension remained available in the Chrome Web Store afterward.
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Investigations found that several popular Chrome and Edge extensions collected sensitive user data at scale, including AI chat conversations and browsing activity, often with limited transparency. Reports said extensions such as **Urban VPN**, Stylish, Poper Blocker, SimilarWeb, StayFocusd, CrxMouse, WhatRuns, and StayFree had either directly exfiltrated AI chat content or retained the remote-configurable capability to do so, affecting more than 7 million installs combined; a separate report alleged Urban VPN-related "privacy" extensions monetized data from roughly 8 million users. Researchers also reported that Urban VPN had previously scraped AI conversations and that its user-facing **opt-out of data collection** control was inverted in code, potentially leaving collection enabled even when users believed they had disabled it. Urban VPN was also found to contain a high-severity browser-extension flaw that let any website send privileged `postMessage` commands without origin validation, allowing attackers to disconnect the VPN, reroute traffic, change bypass settings, disable privacy protections, disable competing extensions, and query extension state. The issue was reportedly fixed in **Urban VPN version 5.12.5** by limiting accepted messages to a read-only query, while broader concerns about data collection practices remained. Together, the findings raised concerns that widely installed browser extensions marketed around convenience or privacy could both harvest sensitive content and expose users to direct manipulation of browser security controls.
Aug 21, 2026
Researchers reported that a fake Chrome extension called **"ChatGPT Ad Blocker"** posed as a tool to remove ads from ChatGPT while secretly harvesting users' prompts and responses. The extension reportedly cloned the ChatGPT page DOM, extracted conversation text, and exfiltrated chats longer than 150 characters to a private Discord channel using a bot identified as **Captain Hook**, turning a supposed privacy tool into a straightforward data-theft mechanism. The campaign appears to have capitalized on interest around ChatGPT advertising by luring users with bogus ad-blocking functionality. DomainTools linked the operation to suspicious domains including `blockaiads.com`, `openadblock.com`, and `gptadblock.com`, and found the extension checked a GitHub-hosted file hourly for remote instructions, suggesting active attacker control and the ability to update behavior over time. The developer account was reportedly tied to the handle **`krittinkalra`** and associated with AI platforms Writecream and AI4ChatCo, although no evidence was cited that those other apps also stole data.
Jun 29, 2026
The Urban VPN Proxy Chrome extension, boasting over 6 million installs and a "Featured" badge on the Chrome Web Store, was discovered secretly collecting and exfiltrating user conversations with major AI chatbots, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, DeepSeek, Grok, and Meta AI. Researchers found that a silent update in July 2025 (version 5.5.0) introduced hidden code that intercepts every prompt and response exchanged with these AI platforms, along with conversation identifiers, timestamps, and session metadata. The extension, which markets itself as a privacy and security tool, continued to harvest data regardless of whether the VPN service was active, betraying user trust and bypassing normal browser security boundaries. Captured data was sent to Urban VPN’s servers and subsequently sold to marketing analytics firms, notably BiScience, a known data broker. The malicious behavior was enabled by script injection that overrode browser APIs such as `fetch()` and `XMLHttpRequest()`, ensuring all relevant traffic was intercepted. The extension’s widespread distribution and high user ratings, combined with its presence on both Chrome and Edge marketplaces, amplified the impact of this breach. The incident highlights the risks posed by browser extensions with privileged access and the potential for abuse even among highly rated and officially endorsed add-ons.
Jun 29, 2026