LinkedIn accused of “spying” after browser extension allegedly scans visited pages

The allegations

It has been reported that LinkedIn’s browser extension is scanning users’ web activity and sending data back to the company — claims that surfaced in a Reddit thread and quickly lit up privacy forums. The allegation: the extension inspects the pages you visit, not just LinkedIn pages, and appears to report that telemetry to LinkedIn. That’s a big red flag for users who thought extensions only worked when they were on a given site.

User outrage and privacy fallout

People are angry — and rightly so. If true, this feels like a betrayal of trust. Browser extensions often request broad permissions, and here’s the rub: many users grant them without a second thought. Suddenly your browser becomes a microphone of sorts. Are job-hunt profiles being informed by your casual browsing? Are third-party trackers being enriched? Those are the questions rattling through comment threads and private DMs alike.

Bigger picture: permissions, platforms, and regulation

This isn’t just about one extension. It’s about an industry that still treats user consent as a box to tick and a permissions model that's opaque to most people. Remember the wider privacy debates of recent years? This plays into that same distrust: data-mining, undisclosed uses, and a widening gap between company statements and user expectations. Allegedly, some users have already begun uninstalling the extension; others are calling for browser stores to audit or pull it.

What happens next

Regulators, journalists, and security researchers will likely take a closer look — and users should too. Check your extension permissions, audit what’s running in your browser, and weigh convenience against potential surveillance. LinkedIn hasn’t offered a full, public rebuttal in the thread that kicked this off, so for now the story hangs in the balance — and in your browser history.

Sources: reddit