since i didn’t see it otherwise posted, the boycat website is: https://www.boycat.io/
heads up: this extension is not open-source, has an account system, and has a carve-out in its privacy policy for sending data it has collected about you through your account to third parties:
Excerpt from the privacy policy
Information Collection
Personal Identification Information
What We Collect:
Your name, email address, and other contact details when you register, contact us, or interact with certain features.Why We Collect It:
To create accounts, verify identities, communicate with you, and provide customer support.Usage Data
What We Collect:
Information about how you interact with the App, including feature usage, navigation paths, app performance, and errors encountered.Why We Collect It:
To improve app functionality, identify popular features, fix bugs, and optimize user experience.Device Information
What We Collect:
Device model, operating system version, browser type, IP address, and unique device identifiers.Why We Collect It:
To ensure compatibility, diagnose issues, and enhance security.Location Data
What We Collect:
If enabled, approximate or precise location data from your device.Why We Collect It:
To provide location-specific services, understand geographical distribution, and enhance user experience.Cookies and Similar Technologies
What We Collect:
Information about browsing activities and preferences through cookies, pixel tags, and similar technologies.Why We Collect It:
To remember your preferences, improve user experience, and analyze interactions with our App.Third-Party Data
What We Collect:
Information from third-party services, such as social media platforms, when linked to our App.Why We Collect It:
To facilitate integration, enhance user experience, and personalize content.Use of Information
Providing, Maintaining, and Improving the App
How We Use It:
To operate the App, release updates, and implement user-driven improvements.Communicating with Users
How We Use It:
To send app updates, respond to inquiries, and provide customer support.Analyzing App Usage
How We Use It:
To optimize design, improve features, and enhance overall user experience.Ensuring Security and Troubleshooting Issues
How We Use It:
To monitor and prevent security threats, detect bugs, and maintain app integrity.Personalizing User Experience
How We Use It:
To tailor content and features based on your preferences and usage patterns.Legal Compliance and Enforcement
How We Use It:
To comply with legal obligations and enforce our terms and policies.Data Sharing and Disclosure
Service Providers
Who They Are:
Companies providing hosting, data analysis, marketing, customer service, and technical support.Why We Share Information:
To enable these services, subject to strict confidentiality obligations.Law Enforcement and Legal Obligations
Who They Are:
Government authorities or parties in legal proceedings.Why We Share Information:
To comply with legal requirements, protect rights and safety, or respond to judicial orders.Business Transfers
Who They Are:
Parties involved in mergers, acquisitions, or asset transfers.Why We Share Information:
User data may be transferred as part of business assets.Aggregated or Anonymized Data
How We Use It:
To share with partners for research, analysis, and strategy without identifying individuals.Edit: It also has no listed location, and the contact page is a 404. i’d definitely stay away from this.
Edit 2: from the tos
Governing Law
Jurisdiction
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California and applicable Delaware corporate laws.
yeah, it’s an american entity with pre-paid lawyers in the most litigious state in the us. uninstall this crap now.
not really the same usecase
Anyone know a good alternative service (not necessarily an extension)?
somebody from us is taping into anti us sentiment market here lol.
(also no alternative to reddit? come on.)
this is either a venture capital thing to collect and sell data, or an NSA thing to collect and use data later, probably both
The point is to figure out who is anti-US, what their browsing patterns are, etc
apparently this is the backstory
Got it, I looked through the source code earlier. It seems pretty straightforward. Auth and storage through Supabase.
Basically intends to make money the same way Honey does, by affiliate linking you to “alternative” online shops with the same thing you’re looking for.
Though like most tech things, the value is really in the collected browsing data which will probably be acquired
how did you reverse the source? it’s some bundled react app it looks. I’ve little experience with these. can you share brief procedure?
Sure, the extension is a zip that can be downloaded, and you’re correct, it’s an injected react app.
Generally, you can just beautify / format JS in your editor to get a better look
If that doesn’t work, usually https://lelinhtinh.github.io/de4js/ is helpful
This is also certainly one of the places where AI has better application than most of how it’s used today
Most of the actual logic occurs in popup.bundle.js but there’s a number of files
But skipping through the boilerplate react and webpack stuff you can find the Supabase specific-code
Without even beautifying one of the smaller files you immediately see
And then in the popup code you see
So it’s definitely just showing you affiliate links to fund itself from what it considers “ethical” alternatives. I also saw Posthog in there which they are using for analytics, but it looks like
It’s configured to not capture each pageview you go to, so it’s not tracking every site you’re on, it looks like only if you’re browsing amazon or ebay based on the background runner code:
Yuck
Can you expand more on the court laws of Delaware and California?
Delaware in particular is very business-friendly in terms of law. Many businesses in the US incorporate in Delaware specifically due to how friendly the law is to their interests, usually to the detriment of the consumer.
moody got the main point of it, but there’s lots of shady shit in delaware when it comes to law. it’s the main home of patent trolls, for one. there was a, i think, vice documentary some years ago where they went around a huge office building with nobody in it, every door had like five company names on it; they just needed an office in that jurisdiction to be able to do legal proceedings there. because the district attorney and judge were father and son.
Not just patent trolls, most US corporations (at least every non boutique tech company I’ve worked for over the past 20 years) are incorporated in Delaware.
Why isn’t Lemmy showing in the alternatives list, though?
It looks like it might be submission based? So maybe someone just has to actually submit lemmy as an alternative
Can Lemmy be considered a “brand” though?
They should drop the “brand” naming scheme.
If only there was something else.
Hmm, you know, it is right on the tip of my tongue. just can’t spit it out
Le… leeeee… Lenard???
Damn I forgot too
Ed… ward?
Like an animal, but not rabbit….
Bunny?
Lemmy tell you something.
For a similar level of bots and influencers, maybe TikTok
I have a boycat. He’s snoozing on the sofa next to me.
What does he think about Reddit?
I had to cut off his access. He kept trolling the bird subs with comments like “Looks delicious!”
I submitted feedback that Piefed, Mbin and Lemmy exists as good alternatives.
Good job!
No alternatives found
I did not know this extension existed
Someone also told me they got banned from Reddit for criticizing Israel.
Well now I’m adding it.
