Black Friday lands on November 27 this year. Cyber Monday, November 30. Somewhere between now and then, a pop-up will offer to “find you the best coupon,” and you’ll have about half a second to decide whether you trust it.
For years, plenty of people just clicked yes. Then came December 2024.
What happened with Honey, briefly
In December 2024, a YouTuber who goes by MegaLag posted a video making two big allegations about PayPal’s Honey extension. One: that its checkout pop-up swapped out creators’ affiliate cookies for its own, so Honey got the commission credit instead of the influencer whose link you clicked. Two: that partner stores could influence which coupon codes Honey showed you. PayPal’s response was that Honey follows industry rules, including last-click attribution.
Lawyers showed up within days. Several creator suits ended up merged into one case in a California federal court, and its path has been bumpy: tossed in late 2025 with permission to try again, then revived in June 2026 when the judge refused PayPal’s request to dismiss the amended version. So it’s still alive. No settlement, no claim form, nothing to sign up for. (A different lawsuit, this one from users and about privacy, got dismissed that same month.)
Courts move slowly. Business partners, less so. On January 12, 2026, Rakuten Advertising kicked Honey out of its affiliate network, a move reported to cost it access to roughly 2,000 merchants. Nine days later Awin announced it had found policy breaches and froze payments to Honey. Users drifted off too: 9to5Google, going by the Chrome Web Store listing, counted about 12 million Chrome users at the end of 2025, down from something like 20 million.
None of that proves you were personally shortchanged. It does explain why so many people uninstalled.
Chrome changed the rules, too
Google tightened its Chrome Web Store affiliate ads policy, and enforcement began June 10, 2025. The sentence that matters says affiliate links, codes or cookies “must only be included when the extension provides a direct and transparent user benefit.” On top of that, the user has to take a related action before each affiliate code goes in, and the program must be disclosed up front.
Translation? No more sneaking a tag onto your order when the extension found you nothing.
The big names, compared
| Tool | What it does | How you get paid or save | Things to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honey (PayPal) | Coupon codes at checkout, rewards points | Rewards points (check current redemption options) | Ongoing creator lawsuit; cut off by Rakuten Advertising, and Awin suspended payments, in 2026 |
| Capital One Shopping | Coupons, price comparisons, rewards | Shopping Rewards redeemable for gift cards | Free; you don’t need a Capital One card. A federal court gave final approval in September 2026 to a creator class-action settlement over affiliate commissions; Capital One denied wrongdoing |
| Rakuten (cash back site and extension) | Cash back at partner stores | PayPal, check, Amex Membership Rewards or Bilt points, every 3 months | Check the payout minimum and each store’s cash back terms |
| Chrome price tracking (built in) | Price history and drop alerts | Nothing to redeem; you just buy at a better price | Free; availability varies by country and requires signing in to Chrome, syncing tabs/history, and enabling “Make searches and browsing better” |
| Keepa / CamelCamelCamel | Amazon price history | You buy when the price is actually low | Keepa has free and paid tiers |
Notice the pattern? Some of these sit on every checkout page you open. Others only matter when you go looking up a price.
The privacy part nobody reads
Most coupon extensions ask for permission to read and change data on the websites you visit. That’s how they spot a checkout page. It also means they can see a lot.
Is that a problem? Honestly, it varies by company, and the privacy policy is where the answer lives. Five minutes, maybe less. For a sense of the stakes, look at Avast, a different company entirely: in June 2024 the FTC finalized an order banning it from selling browsing data for advertising, along with a $16.5 million payment, over data the agency said Avast collected through its browser extensions and software. Your clicks are worth money. Somebody knows it.
What I’d do in Chrome:
- Type chrome://extensions in the address bar.
- Remove anything you don’t use.
- For the one you keep, open Details and set Site access to “On click” or “On specific sites” instead of “On all sites.”
That last step is the underrated one. That setting limits the extension’s access to site data until you click it on the current site.
Smarter ways to save this Black Friday
Pick one extension. Four of them fighting over the same checkout page is a mess, and each one sees your shopping.
Check price history before you trust a “deal.” Chrome’s built-in price tracking or an Amazon tracker will show whether that Black Friday price is actually lower than October’s.
Dig into your card’s offers tab. Chase Offers and Amex Offers cost cardholders nothing. Tap to add an offer in the app, pay with that card, wait for the statement credit. That’s it.
Start at the cashback site yourself. You choose to click through, before shopping, instead of a pop-up making that call at the register.
Stare at the total. That 15% code means little once shipping and a “service fee” chew through it. Our guide to spotting hidden junk fees covers what to look for.
Rather snap receipts and get paid afterward? Then our breakdown of Ibotta, Fetch, Rakuten and Upside is the one to read.
What to do this week
- chrome://extensions, then delete every shopping tool you forgot you had.
- One survivor, site access set to “On click.”
- Price tracking on the two or three things you’d buy anyway. A TV, say, or the winter boots.
- Card offers: activated, in the bank app.
- A list and a number, written before November 27. Countdown timers are built to rush you; the list isn’t.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and isn’t financial or legal advice. Lawsuit statuses and company policies can change; check each company’s current terms and privacy policy. ReinvestSafe may receive compensation for some links published on the site.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I keep using Honey in 2026?
Your call. It still works, and a user privacy suit against it was thrown out in 2026. On the other hand, the creators’ commission case is very much alive, Rakuten Advertising cut it off, and Awin froze its payments. Keeping it? Set site access to “On click.”
Did Honey steal money from YouTubers?
That’s the allegation in a pending class action. PayPal says Honey follows industry rules. A court hasn’t decided the merits.
What’s a good Honey alternative?
Depends on the goal. Want to know if a price is really low? Chrome’s built-in tracking, or a price-history tool. For cash back, a cashback site you visit directly. For coupons, Capital One Shopping is a common pick, and it doesn’t require a Capital One card.
Do coupon extensions track your browsing?
Many can read data on the sites you visit, which is how they detect checkout pages. Read the privacy policy and limit site access to “On click” when possible.
What dates are Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year?
Friday, November 27, 2026, then Monday, November 30.
Sources
- Chrome for Developers: Affiliate ads policy update (2025) (developer.chrome.com/blog)
- Chrome Web Store program policies: Affiliate ads (developer.chrome.com/docs/webstore/program-policies/affiliate-ads)
- Google Chrome Web Store Help: Manage extensions and site access (support.google.com/chrome_webstore/answer)
- Google Chrome Help: Shopping insights and price tracking (support.google.com/chrome/answer)
- Hello Partner: Rakuten Advertising removes PayPal Honey (Jan. 12, 2026) (hellopartner.com/rakuten-advertising-removes-paypal-honey-browser-extension-from-its-network)
- Awin: Statement on Honey investigation (awin.com/news-and-events/post/awin-group-statement-honey-investigation)
- U.S. District Court, N.D. Cal., In re PayPal Honey Browser Extension Litigation, No. 5:24-cv-09470, order of June 22, 2026 denying motion to dismiss the second amended complaint (law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/california/candce)
- MediaPost: Honey browser extension defeats privacy claim (www.mediapost.com/publications/article/honey-browser-extension-defeats-privacy-claim.html)
- 9to5Google: Honey Chrome user decline (9to5google.com)
- Cohen Milstein: In re Capital One Affiliate Marketing Litigation (www.cohenmilstein.com/case-study/in-re-capital-one-financial-corporation-affiliate-marketing-litigation)
- Rakuten Help: Choosing how you get paid (www.rakuten.com/help/article)
- FTC: Order against Avast banning sale of browsing data (www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/ftc-finalizes-order-avast-banning-it-selling-or-licensing-web-browsing-data-advertising-requiring-it)
- Chase: Chase Offers FAQ (www.chase.com/personal/merchant-offers/faqs)
- American Express: Amex Offers FAQ (www.americanexpress.com/customer-service/faq.find-add-amex-offers.html)
