> What business is it of LinkedIn's what browser extensions I have installed?

The list of extensions they scan for has been extracted from the code. It was all extensions related to spamming and scraping LinkedIn last time this was posted: Extensions to scrape your LinkedIn session and extract contact info for lead lists, extensions to generate AI message spam.

That seems like fair game for their business.

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autoexec 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> The list of extensions they scan for has been extracted from the code. It was all extensions related to spamming and scraping LinkedIn

Not according to the website which says:

The scan doesn’t just look for LinkedIn-related tools. It identifies whether you use an Islamic content filter (PordaAI — “Blur Haram objects, real-time AI for Islamic values”), whether you’ve installed an anti-Zionist political tagger (Anti-Zionist Tag), or a tool designed for neurodivergent users (simplify). Under GDPR Article 9, processing data that reveals religious beliefs, political opinions, or health conditions requires explicit consent. LinkedIn obtains none.

It also scans for every major competitor to Microsoft’s own products — Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive — building company-level intelligence on which businesses use which software. Because LinkedIn knows your name, employer, and role, each scan aggregates into a corporate technology profile assembled without anyone’s knowledge.

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tartoran 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

And instead LinkedIn is scraping all users computers?

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Aurornis 5 hours ago | parent [-]

This doesn’t fit the description of scraping by any normal definition. It’s a classic feature probe structure, where the features happen to be scraping extensions.

I think it’s kind of funny that HN has gone so reactionary at tech companies that the comments here have become twisted against the anti-spam measures instituted on a website that will never trigger on any of their PCs, because HN users aren’t installing LinkedIn scrape and spam extensions.

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ImPostingOnHN 5 hours ago | parent [-]

HackerNews users used to be the type that would do the scraping, so they could Hack the data into whatever format or integration they desired.

It's unfortunate to see folks here who don't support that – interoperability is at the heart of the Hacker Ethic. LinkedIn (along with any other big tech companies locking down and crippling their APIs) is wrong to even try to block it.

Is it an issue of the resources scrapers consume? No: Even ordinary users trying to get API access on a registered persistent account linked to their name are stymied in accessing their own data. LinkedIn simply doesn't want you to access your own data via API, or in any manner that isn't blessed by them. That ain't right.

	▲	warkdarrior 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		LinkedIn has an API you can use at your convenience: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/linkedin/ Accessing other users' LinkedIn data via the API requires their OAuth consent, as it should be. But you are welcome to access your own data via the API.

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52-6F-62 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Sounds a little like "OpenAI must protect itself against copyright infringement by any means necessary, including copyright infringement of everyone else"