Key insights

• 🚨 Honey is accused of advertising and affiliate fraud, illegal data collection, deception, and coercion, quietly taking money from consumers and influencers
• 🍪 Replaces affiliate cookies to claim sales commissions, raising concerns about unfair practices and lack of transparency in online transactions
• 📉 Critique of how Honey poaches affiliate commissions through last-click attribution and its impact on small creators and influencers
• 💔 Influencers losing sales to Honey without discounts, leading to partnership terminations and new partnerships with similar companies like Karma
• ❌ Unsatisfactory response to affiliate link overriding, contradiction of core value proposition, and false promise of finding the best coupon codes on the internet
• 📣 Aggressive marketing, misleading claims, occasional good discounts, and negative impact on businesses due to affiliate commission poaching

Q&A

• What tactics did Honey use in its marketing, and what problems did it cause for businesses?

  Honey used aggressive marketing tactics, made misleading claims about finding the best deals, and faced inquiries for its advertising claims. While it occasionally delivered good discounts, it caused problems for businesses by poaching affiliate commissions.

• How did Honey contradict its core value proposition?

  Honey's collaboration with partner stores allowed them to control coupon codes, contradicting Honey's core value proposition to consumers. This led to a false promise of finding the best coupon codes on the internet.

• Why did an influencer like Linus Tech Tips end their partnership with Honey and partner with Karma?

  Linus Tech Tips ended their partnership with Honey due to discovering deceptive practices, where Honey poached affiliate sales without offering discounts. They have now partnered with a similar company called Karma.

• What impact does Honey have on affiliate marketing?

  Honey's impact on affiliate marketing includes poaching affiliate commissions through last-click attribution and its Honey Gold (now PayPal Rewards) programs. This has particularly affected small creators and influencers, as demonstrated through personal testing.

• How does Honey replace affiliate cookies, and why is it concerning?

  Honey replaces affiliate cookies with its own to claim sales commissions, raising concerns about unfair practices and lack of transparency in online transactions. This practice has been compared to a real-world scenario to highlight its unethical nature.

• What are the accusations against Honey based on the investigation?

  The accusations against Honey include advertising and affiliate fraud, illegal data collection, deception, and coercion. The investigation suggests that Honey quietly took money from both consumers and influencers.

• What is the Honey browser extension?

  The Honey browser extension automatically applies coupon codes for online purchases, aiming to help users save money while shopping online.

• 00:00 Honey, a popular browser extension, is being revealed as a scam that has cost consumers and influencers millions of dollars. The multi-year investigation suggests signs of advertising and affiliate fraud, illegal data collection, deception, and coercion. Honey, owned by PayPal, is accused of quietly taking money from both consumers and influencers. This three-part series is based on evidence and documents reviewed by the investigator.
• 03:45 Honey, a browser extension, is replacing affiliate cookies with its own to claim sales commissions, leading to concerns about unfair practices and lack of transparency in online transactions.
• 07:32 A critique of Honey's impact on affiliate marketing, focusing on how it poaches affiliate commissions through last-click attribution and Honey Gold (now PayPal Rewards) programs. The speaker shares personal testing to demonstrate the impact on affiliate commissions.
• 11:16 Influencers using the Honey browser extension for affiliate marketing are losing sales to Honey, even though it offers no discounts. Tech channel Linus Tech Tips ended their partnership with Honey after discovering the deceptive practices. Despite this, they have now partnered with a similar company called Karma.
• 15:16 Honey's response to affiliate link overriding was unsatisfactory. Honey's collaboration with influencers allowed partner stores to control coupon codes, contradicting Honey's core value proposition to consumers. Honey sold a false promise of finding the best coupon codes on the internet.
• 19:17 Honey uses aggressive marketing tactics, sponsors numerous videos, makes misleading claims about finding the best deals, faced inquiry for advertising claims, but occasionally delivers good discounts. They also caused problems for businesses by poaching affiliate commissions.