Compliance with Google Policies for Monetization SDKs

[Alexander Radyushin]

We're considering integrating a third-party monetization SDK (e.g., Colibri Hero) into our extension, which would generate affiliate commissions and support carbon offsetting.

This SDK is already live in extensions with more than 300k users. Here are some:

https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/chat-gpt/fnmihdojmnkclgjpcoonokmkhjpjechg

https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/reader-mode/llimhhconnjiflfimocjggfjdlmlhblm

However, we're concerned about compliance with Google's Single Purpose Policy and Web Store guidelines.

Specifically:

1. Could adding such features violate the Single Purpose Policy if they aren't related to the extension's core functionality?
   
   
2. Has anyone experienced issues with Google or users around similar monetization practices?

I’ve reviewed the Quality Guidelines FAQ but would appreciate any community insights.

Thanks!

[Don Schmitt]

Oh, sure, they are just trying to save the world!  Everything about this is sketchy.  Sort the reviews of those extensions by "lowest to highest" and you will see the complaints about them injecting  adware.  Clearly against store policy.  

Also, that ChatGPT extension has obviously used questionable mechanisms to get those 1,800 ratings for 4.7 stars.

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[Juraj M.]

Holy moly, that reader mode extension downloads 50MB big JSON file full of affiliate links.

https://ext.impacthero.co/merchants-reader-mode.json

(watch out, this may freeze your browser!)

Isn't this the illegal cookie stuffing?

With enough users, this can generate millions of dollars. They can likely buy the whole Google review team, which would explain why it wasn't removed. (please excuse my conspiracy theory, I'm just shocked!)

Reminds me this:

https://adguard.com/en/blog/fake-ad-blockers-part-3.html

[Roberto Oneto]

“Think the worst and you won’t be far wrong.”

...carbon offsetting... 😂

[Alexander Radyushin]

Don, Juraj, and Roberto, I appreciate the insights and concerns you've raised. It's really helpful to hear feedback from the community! 

We want to ensure any integration we pursue aligns fully with Google’s policies and provides a good user experience without compromising trust. We’ll be doing further research into the extensions you mentioned and exploring whether this monetization SDK could cause similar issues. 

If anyone else has experiences—positive or negative—working with similar monetization SDKs that have affiliate based links in them, I'd be grateful to hear them. We're approaching this cautiously and want to make sure we make the right choice for our users and compliance.

[Wladimir Palant]

FYI, I checked out the Impact Hero SDK by Colibri Hero and it doesn’t look good. The list of merchants which is 94 MB large by now is really the smallest issue here. There is the “tiny” issue of informed consent and general misrepresentation the functionality. In addition, there is a lack of transparency and reported numbers that clearly don’t represent reality. My article is here: https://palant.info/2024/10/01/lies-damned-lies-and-impact-hero-refoorest-allcolibri/

[Uladzimir Yankovich]

I've worked in this market for almost 10 years, and nothing has changed.

Until Google takes the lead and responsibility for legal and transparent monetization methods for extension developers, we will continue to face the reincarnation of these reforests and colibri.

[Juraj M.]

Impressive analytic skills Wladimir!
Looks like I have to read all your blog articles now! :D
Google should hire you as private investigator for bad extensions.

Because seeing how half of those extensions is "Featured", I'm shocked... who reviewed them, and how are they actually tested?
Do you think the person that reviewed it was actually happy to see they helped to plant a tree? :D

But seriously now... What I'm actually the most shocked by, is that this "refoorest" got approved for the Safari App Store!!!
Are you kidding me? Knowing firsthand how stupidly strict the reviewers at Apple are, I would expect them to never approve something that only opens affiliate tabs! I guess their reviewer was also happy to see an extra tree... 🙃

I'm happy to see Firefox is the first to react, and Opera soon after? Good job!

Thanks again Wladimir for the article, this must have took quite a lot of time and effort to create... amazing work!

[Wladimir Palant]

> Because seeing how half of those extensions is "Featured", I'm shocked... who reviewed them, and how are they actually tested?

I cannot find the policy document on that right now but “Featured” in Chrome Web Store is a completely meaningless category. It reflects adherence to a bunch of formal criteria, such as having promo images and a privacy policy. It’s also painfully obvious that nobody at Google ever takes a look at those privacy policies. According to https://developer.chrome.com/docs/webstore/program-policies/featured-products, some topics are also prohibited for featured extensions, but that’s about it. So to answer “how are they actually tested”: most likely not at all.

[Juraj M.]

I've just watched the "Behind the Chrome Web Store: Asking Trust & Safety your questions" and they actually talks about Featured badge:
https://youtu.be/BHIZUT_m7AM?t=1513
But what he said there doesn't really match the reality :D.

I've actually used the One-stop support to report the two extensions mentioned here originally AND the refoorest one too.
And I did received email that they are looking into it.
And maybe week or two later they actually removed their "Featured" badge...
Fast forward few weeks to the preset aaaand... not only they are still in the store, but two out of three has the Featured badge back! :D

It's ironic, I'm developing extensions for 7 years and when someone asks me about extensions, my response is not to install any extensions, unless you know the author personally or the company behind it. Because you can't trust the reviews, nor the users count, and now I see not even the featured badge...
I'm sad to see this.