1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
In focus
German election 2025SyriaCrisis in the Middle East
Latest audioLatest videos
Live TV
Culture

Add-ons: Auxiliary programs turned spies

February 7, 2017

A lot of add-ons are supposed to make surfing the net easier. Some, however, in fact spy on user behavior and pass on that information to third parties. The sensitive data has become a lucrative business.

https://p.dw.com/p/2X6UK
DW Zusatzprogramme als Datenspione 2
Image: NDR

German journalists have shown that "Web of Trust" spies on users. What’s more, the browser extension often installs itself without the user’s knowledge and then forwards sensitive data to its operators. The service then analyzes the data and sells it to third parties. It’s a lucrative business worth billions in all. The advertising industry is especially interested in the data, which enables the creation of detailed user profiles – with potentially disastrous consequences for users.