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Affiliation, good deals: the Honey extension (PayPal) accused of misleading influencers and consumers

Widely recommended by influencers from all walks of life, including tech influencers like MKBHD or Linus Tech Tips, the Honey extension allows consumers to list all the coupons and good deals available online.

At least this is the message displayed by the extension, bought by PayPal in 2019 for 4 billion dollars: once installed, it displays a pop-up when the Internet user is about to make an online purchase. Inside, the coupons she found… or the announcement that she didn't find any.

If the promise works very well with anyone looking to save money, the German YouTuber MegaLag, specializing in surveys on the digital industry, details visibly predatory marketing practices in a twenty-minute video.

MegaLag reports having identified different purchasing scenarios which, all of which, allow Honey to obtain the last click from the Internet user, and in doing so to change the affiliation cookies placed on his session, to pocket the corresponding remuneration.

When a person clicks on the affiliate link to a product offered by a content creator, purchasing it normally allows these creators to receive a tiny portion of the amount paid.

If the Internet user has Honey installed on their browser, on the other hand, the latter will indicate looking for coupons, then display a pop-up indicating either having found discounts or having found nothing. In both cases, a very visible button will push the person to take advantage of the discount, or to click to close the pop-up… which allows Honey, according to MegaLag, to change the affiliate cookie of the starting influencer for another. PayPal can then collect the commission on behalf of the person who originally recommended the product.

The YouTuber indicates that he also noticed that Honey lies about his propensity to recommend “the best deals”. In many cases, he would have found better deals online himself.

In fact, the YouTuber notes that, on the business side, Honey does not really offer to provide the best discounts to customers. On the contrary, it offers brands control over which offers will be shown to Internet users. This can allow them to prevent the entire Honey user base from being informed of a big discount operation, if that suits them.

In exchange, Honey asks that the links passing through its extension allow it to recover at least 3 to 5% of affiliate commission.

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