Mellowtel
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Mellowtel is a monetization library that scrapes websites on behalf of AI companies. It is intended to be included in browser extensions installed on users' computers to bypass common anti-scraping protections, but it has been criticized on security and privacy grounds.
Overview
[edit]The Mellowtel software, connected to a web scraping company named Olostep,[1] is an open-source library marketed toward browser extension developers as a way to earn money by using the user's "unused bandwidth".[2] It injects hidden iframes onto pages the user visits that load the desired webpages to be scraped.[3]
Over 200 browser extensions use the library,[2] with 22 either being removed for malware or no longer including the SDK as of July 9, 2025.[3]
Criticism
[edit]Mellowtel has been criticised on security and privacy grounds. John Tuckner of SecurityAnnex criticized the fact that the extension collects the location and available bandwidth of users, as well as removing Content Security Policy headers.[3] A writeup by CyberInsider notes the risk of internal resource access if the software is run on an internal network.[1][4]
Mellowtel has responded to the criticism in a blog post.[5]
See also
[edit]- Anubis (software) — Bot protection software to block AI scrapers
References
[edit]- ^ a b Fadilpašić, Sead (10 July 2025). "Nearly a million browsers affected by more malicious browser extensions - here's what we know". TechRadar.
- ^ a b Crider, Michael (July 10, 2025). "200+ browser extensions make a web-scraping botnet". PCWorld.
- ^ a b c Goodin, Dan (9 July 2025). "Browser extensions turn nearly 1 million browsers into website-scraping bots". Ars Technica.
- ^ Mann, Bill (9 July 2025). "One Million Devices Entraped by Mellowtel-Powered Scraping Botnet". CyberInsider.
- ^ Ali, Arslan. "Responding to ArsTechnica (Condé Naste) and 'Mellow-Drama' Articles". Mellowtel Blog.
External links
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