That is, unless you're, which could easily figure out which Amazon user bought an iPad Pro at 12:03:05 on Dec. And while the collected data is never linked to a person's name, email or IP address, each user history is nevertheless assigned to an identifier called the device ID, which will persist unless the user uninstalls the Avast antivirus product.įor instance, a single click can theoretically look like this:ĭevice ID: abc123x Date: 1 Hour Minute Second: 12:03:05 Domain: Product: Apple iPad Pro 10.5 - 2017 Model - 256GB, Rose Gold Behavior: Add to CartĪt first glance, the click looks harmless. The data collected is so granular that clients can view the individual clicks users are making on their browsing sessions, including the time down to the millisecond. In return, clients-from big brands to e-commerce providers-can learn what consumers are buying and where, whether it be from a Google or Amazon search, an ad from a news article, or a post on Instagram. The Avast division charged with selling the data is Jumpshot, a company subsidiary that's been offering access to user traffic from 100 million devices, including PCs and phones. There's just one problem: What should be a giant chunk of anonymized web history data can actually be picked apart and linked back to individual Avast users, according to a joint investigation by PCMag and Motherboard. In return, your privacy is preserved, Avast gets paid, and online marketers get a trove of 'aggregate' consumer data to help them sell more products. 'The data is fully de-identified and aggregated and cannot be used to personally identify or target you,' Avast told users, who opt in to the data sharing. Last month, the antivirus company tried to justify the practice by claiming the collected web histories were stripped of users' personal details before being handed off. That's what Avast told the public after its browser extensions were found harvesting users' data to supply to marketers. Your antivirus should protect you, but what if it's handing over your browser history to a major marketing company?

We’ve seen no sign of any inappropriate use of private user data since then, so we’ve taken Avast out of the penalty box, restoring its star rating and Editors’ Choice honor. Avast resolved the problem and terminated Jumpshot shortly thereafter. Based on this privacy slip, we knocked this product's rating down one-half star and removed its Editors’ Choice designation.

How to Set Up Two-Factor AuthenticationĮditors' Note: In January 2020, we learned about a problem with sharing of user data between Avast and its subsidiary Jumpshot.

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