The Honey Browser extension has gained a cult following online for its ability to find the best discounts. However, the company has now been hit with allegations of duping users.
YouTuber MegaLag first brought forth the allegations in a recent video, accusing the PayPal-owned company of only selectively showing users the best deals and discount codes. The channel also claims that the Honey Browser extension, which is free and heavily promoted by influencers, often only shows smaller discounts, such as 5%, even when 30% savings are available.
Honey was launched in 2012, and it went viral on Reddit within no time. By 2014, NewsX reports, the company had gained almost a million users. The process was simple enough: Install the extension and activate it, and it would automatically apply discount codes at checkout. Per the outlet, PayPal swooped in and bought the company for $4 billion in 2020, changing its name to PayPal Honey.
Honey Browser extension accused of duping customers and influencers alike by ripping them off: Here's all we know
MegaLag is accusing the company of deceiving customers and costing them money. He also claims that Honey is on the receiving end of these extra profits, as these sales are redistributed through affiliate links. This, in turn, also rips off influencers, snatching away commissions they would otherwise receive for increasing sales on their own.
The channel claims that while initially, the Honey Browser extension would only pick up discount codes and automatically apply them for customers, over the years, the company has begun partnering up with businesses themselves, offering codes, like “HONEY10” code for 10% off. Hence, the Honey Browser extension now picks up its own discounts instead of ones that offer larger savings.
During a March 2020 with CSQ, the co-founder Ryan Hudson reflected on his early days with Honey:
"Consumers use Honey because we help give them the confidence they need to checkout, savings or no savings. Retailers work with Honey because of the confidence we give consumers helps them reduce cart abandonment and cross-site shopping, which in turn results in incremental users and sales. We now have 10K+ merchant partners through affiliate networks and also have strong direct relationships."
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Honey and PayPal have yet to comment on the situation, though the claims have sparked a wave of backlash and outrage online. Co-founders Ryan Hudson and George Ruan have not issued a statement yet.
The Honey Browser extension incident has also paved the way for an increasing demand for transparency in the industry to circumvent misleading practices and their impact on consumers and content creators.
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