Just weeks after PayPal acquired popular coupon-finding browser extension Honey in November 2019 for $4 billion, Amazon shoppers were served a notification that the extension was a security risk. The security warning was first spotted by Politico editor Ryan Hutchins, and the timing of the message, as a Wired report points out, is suspect. Honey has been compatible with Amazon for years, so why was the retailer suddenly labeling it as malware at the height of holiday shopping season?
A free extension for browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Safari, Honey scours the web for coupon codes and automatically applies them to shoppers’ orders. It also tracks prices for individual items which is especially helpful for sites like Amazon, where…