Honey: all the news about PayPal’s alleged scam coupon app

PayPal’s Honey browser extension has been lauded for years as an easy way to find coupons online. But some are calling it a “scam” after a deep dive from YouTuber MegaLag, who accused Honey of “stealing money from influencers.”

The video shines a light on Honey’s use of last-click attribution, an approach to online shopping referrals that gives credit for a sale to the owner of the last affiliate cookie in line before checkout. As MegaLag’s video tells it, Honey takes that credit by swapping its tracking cookie in for others’ when you interact with it.

The company has issued statements saying that it follows “industry rules and practices” like last-click attribution. But creators who may have missed out on money because of it aren’t happy. Some YouTube channels Legal Eagle and GamersNexus are now suing.

Below, you’ll find all our coverage of the controversy.

• GamersNexus is leading a new class action lawsuit against PayPal.

  The lawsuit joins other complaints filed since YouTuber MegaLag’s video accusing PayPal’s coupon-hunting Honey extension of hijacking affiliate links. The Legal Eagle channel filed one earlier this month as well.

  The 90-minute video recaps the concerns raised in MegaLag’s original video and includes interviews with lawyers explaining the legal process.

  
  

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  Honey’s deal-hunting browser extension is accused of ripping off customers and YouTubers

  

  The PayPal Honey browser extension is, in theory, a handy way to find better deals on products while you’re shopping online. But in a video published this weekend, YouTuber MegaLag claims the extension is a “scam” and that Honey has been “stealing money from influencers, including the very ones they paid to promote their product.”

  Honey works by popping up an offer to find coupon codes for you while you’re checking out in an online shop. But as MegaLag notes, it frequently fails to find a code, or offers a Honey-branded one, even if a simple internet search will cover something better. The Honey website’s pitch is that it will “find every working promo code on the internet.” But according to MegaLag’s video, ignoring better deals is a feature of Honey’s partnerships with its retail clients.

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