The Honey Influencer Scam: How PayPal’s Sweet-Looking Browser Extension Left Everyone Sour
Honey the cheerful little browser extension that promised to save you "free money" on your online shopping
The internet is full of things that seem too good to be true. Nigerian princes. Free vacations. Emails claiming you’ve won millions if you just "click here." And then there’s Honey the cheerful little browser extension that promised to save you "free money" on your online shopping.
Owned by PayPal, Honey has long been the darling of influencers and coupon hunters alike, its bright orange button glowing with the promise of effortless savings. Just click, it said, and let Honey sprinkle its magical discount dust over your cart. Unfortunately, as a years-long investigation reveals, Honey’s not so much sprinkling magic as siphoning your money, snatching commissions, and leaving businesses and content creators high and dry.
Let’s discuss how Honey went from digital saviour to the internet’s most insidious swindle.
Honey’s Biggest Lie: “We’ll Find the Best Deals”
Honey’s primary pitch was simple: download the extension, and it would automatically find and apply every working coupon code on the internet to your online shopping cart. Their advertising practically oozed confidence:
“If Honey can’t find a code, you can rest assured there isn’t one.”
“You’ll always get the best deal, no matter where you shop!”
What a wholesome, convenient promise—except it wasn’t true.
The investigation found that Honey not only failed to apply the best coupon codes but actively withheld better discounts. That’s right: Honey had access to higher-value coupons and simply chose not to share them with users. Why? Because those better deals didn’t serve their business model. Honey wasn’t working for you; it was working for its bottom line.
It’s the digital equivalent of your friend telling you, “I found a 50% off coupon!” while secretly pocketing the 70% off one because they struck a deal with the shop owner. Some friend.
Affiliate Fraud: How Honey Robbed Influencers Blind
If you’ve spent any time on YouTube or Instagram, you’ve probably seen your favourite influencers singing Honey’s praises. From food bloggers to tech reviewers, everyone seemed to love it. But here’s the kicker: while influencers were busy promoting Honey, Honey was busy stealing their earnings.
Affiliate marketing works like this: an influencer shares a unique link for a product, and if you use that link to make a purchase, the influencer earns a small commission. But when Honey gets involved, it plays dirty.
The investigation revealed that when users clicked an influencer’s link, Honey would secretly open a new tab, replacing the influencer’s affiliate cookie with its own. This sleight of hand made it look like Honey had referred the customer effectively stealing the commission from the influencer.
Even if Honey didn’t find a single coupon for the customer, it would still claim the commission. And in cases where Honey did reward users with "cashback" through its Honey Gold system (more on that scam later), the cashback was a pittance compared to the commission Honey pocketed.
One outraged influencer said, “Honey poached a $35 commission for doing nothing and rewarded me 89 cents.” Let that sink in.
It’s a betrayal of epic proportions. Influencers helped build Honey’s brand, only to find themselves backstabbed. Some, like Linus Tech Tips, eventually discovered the scam and terminated their partnerships. But how many others are still in the dark—or too afraid to speak out?
Honey Gold: Fool’s Gold by Another Name
Let’s talk about Honey Gold, the rewards programme that Honey uses to lure in shoppers with the promise of cashback. Here’s how it works: when you shop through Honey, you earn points that can be converted into gift cards. Sounds great, right? Until you realise how skewed the system is.
The investigation showed that while Honey takes a huge cut of the affiliate commission, the cashback it gives to users is laughably small. One user provided an example: Honey grabbed $35 in commission from a purchase and handed back a grand total of… 89 cents. That’s not a rewards programme—it’s a digital slap in the face.
Businesses Suffer Too: The Hidden Costs of Honey
And it’s not just consumers and creators being burned by Honey’s antics. Businesses that partner with the extension are finding themselves on the losing end, too. The investigation revealed that Honey sometimes applies coupon codes that businesses never authorised, cutting into their profits without warning.
One business owner fumed, “It cost us thousands, and I haven’t even looked into how far back it went. If Honey is going to steal 10% of your revenue every time, you’re going to have to raise prices. It’s just an awful business model.”
In other words, Honey doesn’t just make businesses suffer it ultimately makes you, the consumer, pay the price as companies raise their prices to cover the losses.
The Problem with Deceptive Marketing
Let’s take a moment to appreciate the sheer audacity of Honey’s marketing strategy. Its advertising campaigns are a masterclass in saying the opposite of the truth with a straight face. Honey claimed:
“We’ll find every working code on the internet.” (They didn’t.)
“We guarantee the best deal every time.” (They won’t.)
“If we can’t find a discount, no one can.” (Turns out, plenty of better discounts were just a Google search away.)
It’s like they weren’t even trying to be subtle. The investigation described Honey’s ads as “lie after lie,” and it’s hard to disagree. It’s marketing built on a foundation of smoke, mirrors, and bald-faced nonsense.
Influencers and Consumers Betrayed
One of the most frustrating parts of this story is how Honey preyed on the trust of its users and its promoters. Imagine being an influencer who spent years cultivating an audience, only to discover that the product you promoted was quietly stealing your commissions. Or being a loyal Honey user, thinking you were saving money, when in fact you were being shortchanged.
As one user put it, “It’s crazy to think I downloaded Honey because my favourite influencer recommended it, only to realise it was robbing them blind.”
The worst part? Some influencers, like Linus Tech Tips, uncovered the scam and still chose not to warn their audiences. Silence like that only enables companies like Honey to keep getting away with these practices.
So, What’s the Real Cost of “Saving Money”?
At first glance, Honey seems harmless a cute, helpful browser extension that saves you money. But dig deeper, and you’ll find a cynical, profit-driven machine exploiting consumers, creators, and businesses alike. Honey’s business model isn’t about helping you save; it’s about maximising their own profits, no matter the cost to everyone else.
From withholding better discounts to stealing affiliate commissions, Honey has proven time and time again that it’s not the saviour it pretends to be. If anything, it’s a cautionary tale about what happens when a company prioritises profits over integrity.
The Sweet-Looking Scam That Stings
So, what’s the takeaway here? If you’re still using Honey, it might be time to uninstall it. There are better ways to save money online ones that don’t involve being lied to, exploited, or left with the digital equivalent of 89 cents jingling in your pocket.
And next time you see a cheerful ad for a "free" tool that promises to make your life easier, maybe take a moment to ask yourself: what’s the real price I’m paying? With Honey, that price was trust and once that’s gone, no discount is worth it.
PS: Credit of the image and information : MegaLag