Ever felt like you're getting a sweet deal online?

That little browser extension promising to magically find you coupons.. you know the one,

 Honey, probably made you feel like a savvy shopper.

 But what if I told you that the honey you thought was sweet might actually be a sticky trap? Get ready because we’re diving deep into a story that’s got both consumers and content creators feeling stung. It turns out that the popular browser extension, owned by none other than PayPal, may have been pulling the rug out from under both users and the very influencers who promoted it. 

Are you ready to uncover the truth behind the Honey hype?

 Let’s get started.

The Sweet Promise of Honey

For years, Honey has been the darling of online shopping. The pitch is simple: install our free browser extension, and it will automatically find and apply coupon codes when you check out online.

 It’s basically free money, right?

 That’s what millions of us believed. With endorsements from seemingly every popular influencer on YouTube, how could we not? It's no wonder millions of people downloaded it thinking they were getting a great deal. The idea of a free extension that saves you money is compelling, and with so many creators singing its praises, it felt like a no-brainer.

But here’s where the story takes a turn. What if that sweet deal was actually a scam? What if that free browser extension was not only failing to find you the best deals, but was also actively stealing money from the creators you trust?

The Affiliate Code Heist

Let's talk about affiliate marketing. 

If you've ever clicked a link in a video description and bought something, you've likely participated in this system. Creators often have affiliate links to products they recommend, and when you purchase through those links, they earn a small commission for referring you to that store. It's a way for them to make a little extra money, and it’s also a way for you to support your favorite content creators.

Here's where Honey allegedly comes in with its sticky fingers. 

When you click on an affiliate link, a tracking tag, often saved as a cookie, is attached to your browser. This is how the retailer knows who to credit with the sale.

 Now, imagine you're about to complete your purchase. You see that little Honey icon pop up, promising to find you some extra savings. You click “apply discounts,” and seemingly everything’s fine. Except, behind the scenes, Honey is allegedly removing the creator's affiliate cookie and replacing it with its own. This means that instead of the creator getting their commission, Honey is pocketing the money. This is a major problem, especially since Honey was often the last step before checkout, virtually guaranteeing that it would steal the affiliate commission.

How Does Honey Do It?

You might be wondering, how does Honey pull this off without you noticing? It's all very sneaky. When you click "apply discounts," Honey discreetly opens a new tab in your browser. This new tab acts as a simulated referral click, as if Honey was the one who directed you to the website. Once the page loads and Honey's affiliate cookie is in place, the tab automatically closes, leaving you none the wiser. It's a slick operation, designed to steal commissions without any transparency. This sneaky practice is the first part of the alleged scam, but it gets worse.

The Double-Dealing on Discounts

So, Honey is stealing affiliate commissions, but surely it’s still finding us the best coupon codes, right?

 Unfortunately, that's another part of the lie. Remember how Honey claims to scour the internet for every promo code ever used? It turns out, that claim is far from true.

Here’s the alleged double game: Honey approaches online retailers and convinces them to partner. One of the key benefits for these stores is that they get to choose which coupon codes are shared in Honey's database. If there’s a 20% off code and a 5% off code, the retailer can make sure only the 5% one shows up to Honey users.

Think about it:

Would any business pay Honey to share their highest-value codes with millions of users? Of course not. So, to make the partnerships appealing, Honey allegedly told businesses that it would let them control which discount codes were shared.

The Lie Unravels

Honey’s entire value proposition to consumers hinges on finding you the best deal. But the fact that they are allegedly letting partner stores control what codes are shared, makes that claim a blatant lie. They're not finding you every working coupon code on the internet; they're only showing you the ones their partners have approved, which are often the least beneficial. This also explains why sometimes you might have seen Honey only find Honey-branded coupon codes, like "HONEY5" or "HONEY10".

So, on one hand, Honey is telling us they're finding us the best deals, but on the other, they’re telling businesses they're helping them prevent users from finding the best deals. That’s a classic example of double-speak, and that’s why many are calling it a scam.

The "Honey Gold" Cashback Ploy

The rabbit hole doesn't stop there. Remember "Honey Gold," now known as "PayPal Rewards"? This is another way Honey allegedly tries to steal affiliate commissions. When "Honey Gold" is available at checkout, it pops up and says to click the button so PayPal can claim the commission for the sale, and in return, you'll get a small portion of that money in points.

It's a "cashback" game that sounds great, but in reality, it’s another way for Honey to get that last click and steal the commission. Even if there are no coupons to offer, "Honey Gold" gives Honey another reason to get that last click. The amount of the commission shared with users is ridiculously low. One content creator tested this and found that after Honey poached a $35 commission, they received a measly 89 cents as a cashback reward.

 Thanks, PayPal…

The Final Insult

There’s one more layer to this story. Sometimes, even when Honey has nothing to offer – no coupon codes, no "Honey Gold" – it still pops up. You click "Got it" to get rid of the annoying dancing coin, and guess what? PayPal still takes the sale. Honey is using any excuse to get that last click, regardless of whether they actually provided any value. It’s a systematic effort to exploit the last-click attribution model, and it's costing content creators significant revenue.

Influencers Betrayed

Now, think about the influencers who promoted Honey. They were encouraging their audiences to download an extension that was actively stealing their own affiliate commissions. Many influencers were unknowingly promoting a product that was undermining their own income.

Linus Tech Tips, a tech-savvy YouTube channel, was one of Honey's biggest promoters. They promoted Honey in around 160 sponsored segments. They eventually caught on to the fact that Honey was overriding affiliate links, but it took them years to figure this out. What's even more baffling is that, after ending their partnership with Honey, they then went on to partner with another coupon browser extension, that has similar behaviour.

The fact that even a tech-savvy team like Linus Tech Tips took so long to realise what was happening underscores the deceptive nature of Honey. Many other influencers likely had no clue this was happening either.

The Scale of the Scam

The scale of this alleged scam is mind-boggling. Honey sponsored nearly 5,000 videos across roughly 1,000 different YouTube channels, racking up an unbelievable 7.8 billion views. The company’s strategy was simple: pay creators upfront for ads and then steal from their back pockets.

 It’s a brilliant, albeit unethical, plan that allowed Honey to become one of the biggest YouTube sponsors of all time.

What You Can Do

So, what do you do now? 

First, uninstall Honey if you have it installed. Then, spread the word about Honey’s alleged shady practices, and warn people not to install it. And most importantly, support the content creators you love, be mindful of the products and companies that you actually use and promote. This situation serves as a reminder to be skeptical of online sponsors and to always look a little deeper.

The Bigger Picture

The Honey situation is more than just a story about a browser extension. It highlights the challenges of transparency in online advertising, the potential for exploitation in affiliate marketing, and the power of influencer marketing. It's a reminder that just because something seems too good to be true, it often is.

The Darker Side

But wait, there’s more. 

While investigating, some instances were found where Honey actually worked really well. It found discounts that seemed too good to be true. There were even times when it didn’t poach affiliate commissions. These inconsistencies led to the discovery of an even darker side of the alleged PayPal scam. Some businesses were having problems with customers using very high discount codes they’d never issued. They discovered that those codes were coming through Honey.

This shows that Honey was not only harming consumers and influencers, but also smaller online businesses. It was allegedly using and stealing these codes for its own benefit, while claiming to be helping both the consumer and businesses.

Conclusion

The Honey Trap is a tangled web of deception that has allegedly affected millions. From stealing affiliate commissions from influencers, to deceiving consumers by withholding better coupon codes, the evidence suggests that Honey has been operating far from transparently. It’s a cautionary tale about the importance of due diligence, both as consumers and creators. It's a story that underscores the need for more ethical practices in the digital space. So the next time a browser extension promises you the best deals online, ask yourself: is it too sweet to be true?

Now that you know the truth about Honey, it’s time to take action. Uninstall the extension if you have it and warn your friends and family about the alleged scam. Let's make sure that companies that engage in these kinds of practices are held accountable. Do you know of any other online scams? Share them in the comments section!

FAQs

1. What is Honey and what does it claim to do? 

Honey is a free browser extension that claims to automatically find and apply the best coupon codes when you shop online. It purports to search the internet for every available promo code and apply the one that saves you the most money. Honey is designed to work when you are at the checkout page of an online retailer.

2. How does Honey steal from influencers and content creators? 

Honey poaches affiliate commissions by replacing the content creator's affiliate tracking code with its own. When a user clicks on an affiliate link and proceeds to make a purchase, Honey will remove the creator's affiliate cookie and replace it with a Honey cookie, so Honey receives the commission instead of the creator. This happens even if Honey does not find a working coupon code6. This can occur with the use of a discreet new tab that opens and then closes without the user's knowledge.

3. Does Honey really find the best coupon codes? 

No, Honey does not always find the best coupon codes. Honey partners with online retailers, and one of the key benefits of this partnership is that the retailer can control which coupon codes are shown to Honey users. This means that retailers can choose to show a smaller discount, even if a larger discount is available. Therefore, Honey may be intentionally withholding better deals from users.

4. What is Honey Gold or PayPal Rewards?

 Honey Gold, now called PayPal Rewards, is a feature that offers users a small cashback in the form of points when they make a purchase through Honey. However, the points awarded are typically a very small percentage of the commission that Honey claims. Even if Honey does not find a coupon code, it may still offer Honey Gold to get the last click and steal the affiliate commission.

5. Why is Honey considered a scam?

Honey is considered a scam because it engages in deceptive practices such as stealing affiliate commissions, withholding better coupon codes and selling the idea that they will find the best possible coupons when they are intentionally not. It uses double messaging by claiming to help customers find the best deals while also telling retailers that it helps prevent customers from finding the best deals. Honey is also accused of being an advertising scam with their many sponsored videos promoting the extension.