Cashback Credits Missing? Honey Browser Extension Is Hijacking Cashback Tracking by Overwriting Tracking Cookies at Checkout

TheCheifKev on 23/12/2024 - 03:30
Last edited 23/12/2024 - 03:32

Hey everyone,
After months of frustration with missing cashback credits, I think I've finally figured out what's going wrong with our cashback tracking. The culprit? The Honey browser extension.
Here's what I believe is happening:
Cashback sites use what's called "last click attribution" - basically whoever has the most recent tracking cookie gets credit for the sale. The problem is, if you have Honey installed and click ANY of their popups at checkout (like "Apply Discounts" or "Activate Rewards"), Honey:

Secretly opens a hidden tab
Places its own tracking cookie
Overwrites our cashback site's cookie

So even if you:

Click through your cashback site first
Find your items
Get to checkout
Click that tempting Honey popup…

Boom - your cashback tracking is gone because Honey just replaced the cashback site's cookie with their own. This explains why so many of my purchases haven't tracked properly - Honey was silently overriding them!
Possible solutions I'm going to try:

Disabling/uninstalling Honey when doing cashback shopping
Never clicking Honey popups at checkout when using cashback
Using a separate browser profile just for cashback purchases

Would love to hear if others have experienced similar issues. If you're having trouble with cashback tracking and have Honey installed, this might be your answer!

I figured this out after watching a youtube video called "Exposing the Honey Influencer Scam". Honey secretly overrides content creators' affiliate links at checkout, This diverts commission payments from youtube creators to PayPal/Honey. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc4yL3YTwWk&ab_channel=MegaL…

General Discussion

Comments

  • LupinS on 23/12/2024 - 07:03

    Since I don't use it, no. That's not the issue.

    Shop back keeps trying really hard to justify the missing transactions as a user error too…

    • Dunno on 23/12/2024 - 12:50

      When you shop using cashback sites always check the click history to ensure it tracked correctly before completing your transaction.

      If you are still having issues despite doing that it's likely your error, items already in the cart don't qualify for cashback(must be added after clicking the link) etc

  • darkzek on 23/12/2024 - 07:44

    Surprised you're not ditching Honey entirely, it's not like other coupon extensions don't exist that don't steal money. Edge has one built in.

  • RockCartel on 23/12/2024 - 08:25

    I've been using 'Using a separate browser profile just for cashback purchases'
    Never had any missed

    • ABCDEFG on 23/12/2024 - 12:46

      Same here, pretty much, except I just use a separate browser entirely. Cashbacks are the only thing that Edge gets used for.

      • Rowjo on 25/12/2024 - 11:49

        +1 no issues either using this method or going through the app

      • Avantime on 26/12/2024 - 00:53

        Yep, use something like Firefox Developer or Edge. No extensions apart from the Cashback site you want, and set to clear all cookies on browser exit. Also I would recommend turning off the firewall.

  • Dunno on 23/12/2024 - 12:56
    +2

    This stuff has been known for 4+ years but I agree the ad reads given to influencers are misleading saying honey finds the best deals on the internet when in reality the retailer can choose what coupons are offered which are not always the biggest possible discount.

    I do think it's shady to steal the revenue when they don't find a code to apply, fair game when they do because they are funneling in additional sales with the added discount.

  • jackvdbuk on 23/12/2024 - 13:12
    +1

    Clear cookies, start fresh, any ad block or other extensions may be at fault too. Best practice and never really had any cashback missed over 10 years

  • Alan6984 on 23/12/2024 - 22:44

    Article regarding the Honey browser extension and how it hijacks referrals (and potentially fails to give the best discounts) for anyone that is interested - the researcher is posting multiple videos with more details:

    https://www.notebookcheck.net/YouTuber-finds-popular-browser…

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