[rmac]

[!warning!]

1) this projects' chrome extension sends detailed telemetry to posthog and amplitude:

- https://storage.googleapis.com/cobrowser-images/telemetry.pn...

- https://storage.googleapis.com/cobrowser-images/pings.png

2) this project includes source for the local mcp server, but not for its chrome extension, which is likely bundling https://github.com/ruifigueira/playwright-crx without attribution

super suss

[namuorg]

Hey, creator of Browser MCP here.

1. Yes, the extension uses an anonymous device ID and sends an analytics event when a tool call is used. You can inspect the network traffic to verify that zero personalized or identifying information is sent.

I collect anonymized usage data to get an idea of how often people are using the extension in the same way that websites count visitors. I split my time between many projects and having a sense of how many active users there are is helpful for deciding which ones to focus on.

2. The extension is completely written by me, and I wrote in this GitHub issue why the repo currently only contains the MCP server (in short, I use a monorepo that contains code used by all my extensions and extracting this extension and maintaining multiple monorepos while keeping them in sync would require quite a bit of work): https://github.com/BrowserMCP/mcp/issues/1#issuecomment-2784...

I understand that you're frustrated with the way I've built this project, but there's really nothing nefarious going on here. Cheers!

[asaddhamani]

Hey, as a maker, I get it. You spent time building something, and you want to understand how it gets used. If you're not collecting personal info, there is nothing wrong with this.

Knee-jerk reactions aren't helpful. Yes, too much tracking is not good, but some tracking is definitely important to improving a product over time and focusing your efforts.

[Trias11]

When people see “I collect” they won’t even bother reading further.

This is showstopper.

Noble reasons won’t matter.

Spyware perception.

[nlarew]

"detailed" is an anonymized deviceId and a counter of tool calls? Heaven forbid an app want to get some basic insights into how people use it.

[tomrod]

Correct. Telemetry should _always_ be opt-in and explicitly an easy choice to not engage.

Any other mode of operation is morally bankrupt.

[observationist]

This automatic sense of entitlement to surveil users is the absolute embodiment of the banality of evil.

It's 2025 - we want informed consent and voluntary participation with the default assumption that no, we do not want you watching over our shoulders, and no, you are not entitled to covertly harvest all the data you want and monetize that without notifying users or asking permissions. The whole ToS gotcha game is bullshit, and it's way past time for this behavior to stop.

Ignorance and inertia bolstering the status quo doesn't make it any less wrong to pile more bullshit like this onto the existing massive pile of bullshit we put up with. It's still bullshit.

[arresin]

The only chrome extensions you should install are ones you can build yourself from source.

[neycoda]

... And have reviewed and understand completely