Web Of Trust browser add-on sold user data without anonymizing it

November 8, 2016

WOT, the popular browser add-on designed to keep you secure online has been pulled after an investigation found that it wasn’t so safe and secure after all.

Web of Trust is a “Safe Web Search & Browsing” service that’s been around since 2007 and is found on over 140 million machines. It uses a crowd sourcing system whereby users can view and rate websites based their trustworthiness and child safety.

But an investigation by German broadcaster NDR (Norddeutscher Rundfunk) found WOT wasn’t living up to its privacy promise. While the company’s policy states it could collect data such as IP, geolocation, device type, OS, browser of choice, date, time, and the URLs you visit, WOT promises to anonymize everything.

However, NDR examined some of the data that WOT sold for targeted advertising and found that it contained emails and phone numbers. With this information, the journalists were able to identify individuals and easily link them to their browsing histories and other private details, which included travel plans, illnesses, sexual preference, drug consumption, and ongoing police investigations.

Mozilla has already removed WOT from its add-ons page for violating guidelines. WOT has since removed its extension from other platforms so it could “study the feedback we have been receiving and to make appropriate changes.”
Responding to the revelations, WOT apologized and said it is changing the way it anonymizes data. It will also now offer a way for users to opt-out of having their data collected.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/business/web-of-trust-privacy-investigation/

Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes? (Juvenal)
[But who guards the guards themselves?]

Once more, the lesson is that browser add-ons should be used sparingly and carefully, if at all.