Providers like Honey advertise that they include the currently highest discount code with every online purchase. On the one hand, they use cooperation with web shops, but they also take over the manual input from the users: Anyone who has installed the Honey browser extension and enters a discount code automatically sends it to the discount service’s servers. But that’s not all: A YouTuber analyzed the behavior of Honey’s browser plug-in and found that it replaces affiliate links from competitors and actively hides this behavior. With this behavior, the Honey offer is acting contrary to a stand-down rule that is generally valid in the affiliate marketing industry: If a user has already clicked an affiliate link, it remains untouched so that the actual origin of the click is preserved. However, YouTuber MegaLag noticed that a Honey browser was intentionally ignoring this stand-down convention. Concealment tactics are used, which he equates with VW’s emissions scandal: an automatic switch-off system analyzes origin, account age and user email in order to simulate compliance with the rules in test scenarios.
Established user accounts receive discounts
For his analysis, he compared the behavior of a newly created user account with that of an established Honey user. The latter was presented with discounts that newcomers don’t get to see. He then subjected various versions of the browser plug-in to a source code analysis and discovered: Overwriting existing affiliate links follows a complex set of rules, the rules of which were updated hourly from the Internet. A wide variety of measures are defined there: If the account’s email address contains the word “test”, Honey always behaves in accordance with the rules. In some cases there will be a delay before discount offers are made. In an extensive search for clues, he was able to trace this automatic switch-off back to 2017.
Fatal for everyone involved
If MegaLag’s accusation turns out to be true, this behavior is not just a problem for competing discount aggregators: many podcasters, bloggers and streamers finance themselves through advertising. To measure their impact, they often use discount codes and affiliate links. Affiliate links regularly overwritten by Honey rob some producers of visibility while multiplying the measured reach of others. In two previous videos, MegaLag demonstrated the impact this can have on content producers and web shops.
Paypal denies allegations
In 2020, the payment service provider took over the discount service Honey. Since then, any iPhone user who installs the PayPal app can find the Honey extension in Safari’s settings (fortunately, it’s inactive by default). When MegaLag confronted the company with its investigations, it rejected its results as incorrect and threatened legal consequences. However, the YouTuber doesn’t have to worry too much: the first video in which he criticizes Honey’s business practices has been online for over a year.
If you have PayPal on your iPhone, you will always be offered the Honey extension under Settings/Apps/Safari/Extensions.
