Banned Chrome Extension Returns With Hidden Affiliate Scam, and Security Researchers Warn the Next Version Could Be Worse

Key points

• A Chrome browser extension banned in January 2026 for stealing users' AI conversations is actively listed on the Chrome Web Store again as of August 2026.
• The extension, which previously accumulated over 300,000 installs, is now delivering hidden code that earns its operators money through affiliate marketing schemes.
• Version 1.7.3.0, pushed between late July and early August 2026, added 21 lines of code that open a paid referral link every time the extension updates.
• Security firm Netskope detected the updated extension arriving on company-owned computers through Google's own software delivery network.
• Researchers warn the same update channel could deliver far more damaging code in a future release.

A Chrome browser extension, which is a small add-on program installed inside the Google Chrome web browser to give it extra features, was quietly reinstated to the Chrome Web Store after Google banned it earlier this year for harvesting users' private conversations with AI chatbots. The extension is now carrying new hidden code, and it is reaching corporate computers through Google's own infrastructure.

The add-on is called "AI Sidebar with DeepSeek, ChatGPT, Claude and more." Security firm OX Security flagged it in December 2025 for scraping, meaning silently copying and sending away, conversations that users had with AI tools like ChatGPT and DeepSeek. Google removed it in January 2026. Before the ban, it had gathered more than 300,000 installs and a 4.6-star rating.

How did it get back into the store?

The developers cleaned up the data-theft code and returned the extension to the store. Google reinstated it. As of August 2026, Netskope Threat Labs, a cybersecurity research team, reports that the extension is live again and actively updating on enterprise endpoints, which are company laptops and desktops managed by IT departments.

The comeback followed a deliberate pattern. Version 1.7.2.0, released between 20 and 31 July 2026, behaved normally, apparently to build a clean update history. Then version 1.7.3.0 appeared roughly two weeks later carrying a hidden addition: 21 lines of code tucked into a single script file.

What does the hidden code actually do?

It earns the extension's operators money every time someone updates or uninstalls it. When Chrome installs a new version of the extension, a background process called a service worker opens a new tab in the foreground, sending the user to an affiliate link. Affiliate links are referral web addresses that pay a commission to whoever sent the visitor. This one routes through a web address shortener to an AI video-generation platform that runs a public affiliate programme.

The code's own comments confirm the trigger was set to fire on updates rather than on the initial install. That means every future release becomes a fresh payday for the operators rather than a single one-time commission.

The uninstall trick is equally deliberate. Chrome normally fires one farewell tracking link when a user removes an extension. This code waits five seconds after loading and then overwrites the legitimate uninstall link with its own, ensuring the operators collect a referral even from people who are trying to get rid of the add-on.

Netskope traced the extension to a company called Extchange.com, listed inside the extension's own files as both developer and data controller. The domain was registered in February 2024 with no public owner details. The Chrome Web Store listing falsely names the developer as DeepSeek AI.

Netskope flagged the extension to Google before publishing its findings and is advising organisations to remove it immediately. The firm classified version 1.7.3.0 as Trojan.GenericFCA.Script.37952, which is a detection name for software that disguises malicious or unwanted behaviour inside an otherwise functional programme.

Should everyday users and businesses be worried?

For now, the direct harm is low-grade: unwanted tabs and commissions paid to the extension's operators. But Netskope is explicit that the same delivery channel could carry genuinely dangerous code next time, such as software that steals passwords or locks company files for ransom.

Anyone who has this extension installed should remove it now. IT teams at companies should check managed browsers for it and block its extension ID at the policy level. If you used it during its earlier life when it was still stealing conversations, treat any AI chatbot session from that period as potentially exposed and change any passwords you may have typed into those chat windows.