5 ms·

Chrome extensions are such a massive vector for unwittingly giving away all of your data. The fact that they're near impossible to monetize combined with the fa

Chrome extensions are such a massive vector for unwittingly giving away all of your data. The fact that they're near impossible to monetize combined with the fact that people click through the permissions screen so easily makes it a prime target for scraping people's data.

egfx 7y ago
If I could get 1/10th that many installs on https://2fb.me https://2fb.me I’d make a million dollars a month.
- kilroy123 7y ago
  How exactly?
  - flysonic10 7y ago
    Yea, I'm also curious.
    - ajhurliman 7y ago
      I'm guessing by scraping/ selling data. How else do chrome extensions make money?
      - deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
- bluedevilzn 7y ago
  Mind elaborating, how?
- point78 7y ago
  Carr to elaborate
  - egfx 7y ago
    There will be an HN post dedicated to the core idea. I'm very close to releasing an API for all Chrome Extensions shortly.
    - flysonic10 7y ago
      Do you mean some way of integrating donation requests by extension devs?
    - point78 7y ago
      I think we're all specifically asking how the heck you monetize extensions
      - egfx 7y ago
        By adapting the 2FB API (which you can use today adding 2fb.me before ANY link.. i.e https://2fb.me/https://news.ycombinator.com https://2fb.me/https://news.ycombinator.com ) Iv'e made many posts about it and didn't get much attention but now that people are starting to understand the power of this service; I'm moving on to release it as a free and open source Chrome Extension SDK with additional features and examples. I think it's a good idea to specifically serve the Chrome Developer community. And once I have some semblance of API documentation up, I'll post about it. Hold on.
- flysonic10 7y ago
  turns out 2fb.me redirects users to this PayPal page after they share their twitter post on Facebook: https://www.paypal.me/qkast/2#_=_ https://www.paypal.me/qkast/2#_=_
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - stronglikedan 7y ago
    Is this different than the myriad other FLOSS that has popups asking for donations?
a9t9 7y ago
"they're near impossible to monetize "... I would not say so. => Our UI (test) automation/RPA software consists of a totally free open-source extension for web automation plus a paid cross-platform binary file that adds additional desktop automation features. It communicates with the extension itself via native messaging. The add-on module is available in a limited free and paid fully featured version. It is the classical freemium model, which works well for both, the extension creators and the users. https://ui.vision/x/pricing https://ui.vision/x/pricing
- eastendguy 7y ago
  Another good example of a freemium browser extension is Grammarly. Browser extension certainly can be monetized in an ethical way. (Note: I never used Grammarly myself, just seen the many ads)
  - nvrspyx 7y ago
    Per Grammarly's Privacy Policy, they collect a bunch of data, which includes "all text, documents, or other content or information uploaded, entered, or otherwise transmitted by you in connection with your use of Grammarly’s Services and/or Software. This would include, for example, text you write while using a Grammarly product, such as the browser extension or the mobile keyboard". There's also: "You can remove your Personal Data from Grammarly at any time by deleting your account as described above. However, we may keep some of your Personal Data for as long as reasonably necessary for our legitimate business interests"

egfx 7y ago

If I could get 1/10th that many installs on https://2fb.me https://2fb.me I’d make a million dollars a month.

kilroy123 7y ago
How exactly?
- flysonic10 7y ago
  Yea, I'm also curious.
  - ajhurliman 7y ago
    I'm guessing by scraping/ selling data. How else do chrome extensions make money?
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
bluedevilzn 7y ago
Mind elaborating, how?
point78 7y ago
Carr to elaborate
- egfx 7y ago
  There will be an HN post dedicated to the core idea. I'm very close to releasing an API for all Chrome Extensions shortly.
  - flysonic10 7y ago
    Do you mean some way of integrating donation requests by extension devs?
  - point78 7y ago
    I think we're all specifically asking how the heck you monetize extensions
    - egfx 7y ago
      By adapting the 2FB API (which you can use today adding 2fb.me before ANY link.. i.e https://2fb.me/https://news.ycombinator.com https://2fb.me/https://news.ycombinator.com ) Iv'e made many posts about it and didn't get much attention but now that people are starting to understand the power of this service; I'm moving on to release it as a free and open source Chrome Extension SDK with additional features and examples. I think it's a good idea to specifically serve the Chrome Developer community. And once I have some semblance of API documentation up, I'll post about it. Hold on.
flysonic10 7y ago
turns out 2fb.me redirects users to this PayPal page after they share their twitter post on Facebook: https://www.paypal.me/qkast/2#_=_ https://www.paypal.me/qkast/2#_=_
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- stronglikedan 7y ago
  Is this different than the myriad other FLOSS that has popups asking for donations?

a9t9 7y ago

"they're near impossible to monetize "... I would not say so. => Our UI (test) automation/RPA software consists of a totally free open-source extension for web automation plus a paid cross-platform binary file that adds additional desktop automation features. It communicates with the extension itself via native messaging. The add-on module is available in a limited free and paid fully featured version. It is the classical freemium model, which works well for both, the extension creators and the users. https://ui.vision/x/pricing https://ui.vision/x/pricing

eastendguy 7y ago
Another good example of a freemium browser extension is Grammarly. Browser extension certainly can be monetized in an ethical way. (Note: I never used Grammarly myself, just seen the many ads)
- nvrspyx 7y ago
  Per Grammarly's Privacy Policy, they collect a bunch of data, which includes "all text, documents, or other content or information uploaded, entered, or otherwise transmitted by you in connection with your use of Grammarly’s Services and/or Software. This would include, for example, text you write while using a Grammarly product, such as the browser extension or the mobile keyboard". There's also: "You can remove your Personal Data from Grammarly at any time by deleting your account as described above. However, we may keep some of your Personal Data for as long as reasonably necessary for our legitimate business interests"