Honey: all the news about PayPal’s alleged scam coupon app

A series of detailed investigative videos published by YouTuber MegaLag has sparked widespread controversy surrounding Honey, the popular online shopping and coupon-finding browser extension owned by PayPal.

The investigations accuse the platform of engaging in highly deceptive business practices, most notably implementing a last-click attribution system that hijacks affiliate marketing revenue. According to the claims, the extension systematically swapped out the tracking cookies of independent content creators and replaced them with its own, thereby diverting commissions from the influencers who originally promoted the products. Additionally, the reports allege that Honey targeted underage audiences through high-profile YouTube sponsorships, gathered personal data from individuals who had never officially registered for the service, and exploited small online retailers by utilizing private discount codes to force them into promotional partnerships.\n\nThe fallout from these allegations has led to severe legal and regulatory consequences for the browser extension. Several prominent content creators and channels, including Legal Eagle, have initiated class-action lawsuits against PayPal, seeking damages for lost promotional revenue. This backlash prompted Google to revise its Chrome Web Store policies, implementing strict new rules that prohibit extensions from overriding affiliate links without offering direct value to the consumer. As a result of the negative publicity and mounting legal challenges, Honey has experienced a substantial drop in its user base, losing approximately five million active installations on Chrome. Despite the ongoing litigation and public scrutiny, PayPal has defended its use of standard industry practices and has declined to comment directly on the specific evidence presented in the investigative series.