An investigation by Motherboard and PCMag found that Avast, the antivirus used by more than 435 million people, sells sensitive information about its users’ web browsing to third-party companies, such as Google, Microsoft or Home Depot.
According to the report, the Prague-based company obtains browsing data through an antivirus function that can be turned off, but which many users ignore. Afterwards, the data is sold to Jumpshot, a company that sells them for e-commerce consumption analysis.
Smarter market with analytics of the purchase path. Examine each search, click and buy. On each site, “says the Jumpshot website, which Avast acquired in 2013.
Jumpshot claims to have data from 100 million internet users and counts among its clients to TripAdvisor, Condé Nast, Edelman, Google and Unilever, among other companies.
Avast shared a position on the publication, where he says that the data obtained does not include personally identifiable information, such as name or contact details.
Users have always had the ability to opt out of sharing their information with Jumpshot, “the company said.
“And now we are explicitly offering all existing users of the free version the choice to opt for themselves or choose not to share their browsing data, a process that will be completed in February 2020.”
In addition, in December, Google removed the Avast and AVG antivirus extensions from its Chrome browser, following reports that they extracted browsing data for the same purposes. Although the company says that this practice ceased.
“We completely discontinue the practice of using any type of data obtained through browser extensions for any purpose outside the central security engine, including sharing them with our Jumpshot subsidiary,” Avast said.