LinkedIn Takes Down Sell Hack Browser Plugin

The Sell Hack browser extension is no longer functional on LinkedIn pages after the company was accused of spying on people`s LinkedIn profiles, Sell Hack announced in a blog post.

The plugin seemed to disclose a private LinkedIn account email address with a simple click. Once added to a Chrome, Safari or Firefox browser, it featured a “Hack in” button to the top section of a LinkedIn profile. Clicking it revealed what appeared to be the owner`s email address.

Sell Hack says its sources are legal.

“The data we process is all publicly available,” Sell Hack writes on its FAQ page. “We just do the heavy lifting and complicated computing to save you time. We aren’t doing anything malicious to a Social website. We think browser extensions are the best way to personalize an individual`s web experience.”

After the issue was made public, Linkedin took legal action.

“We are doing everything we can to shut Sell Hack down. On 31 March LinkedIn’s legal team delivered Sell Hack a cease-and-desist letter as a result of several violations,” a LinkedIn spokesman told the BBC. LinkedIn also recommended users to uninstall the add-on, as well as to take caution when installing any other third-party app which might leak sensitive data.

Sell Hack announced disabling the plugin. Shortly after, spokesperson Krista Canfield told security blogger Graham Cluley that “no LinkedIn data has been compromised and Sell Hack is not the result of a security breach, bug or vulnerability”.

Sell Hack is a browser extension for social profiles designed for salespeople looking for new prospects.