Avast ordered to stop selling browsing data from its browsing privacy apps. Identifiable data included job searches, map directions, "cosplay erotica."

And to think I was recommending Avast to everyone when I was still a teenager.

I should’ve known as « if it’s free, it means you’re the product », but I was naive.

And even when you’re paying, some companies are still selling your data apparently.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

All of that language was offered up while Avast was collecting users' browser information from 2014 to 2020, then selling it to more than 100 other companies through a since-shuttered entity known as Jumpshot, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

While we disagree with the FTC’s allegations and characterization of the facts, we are pleased to resolve this matter and look forward to continuing to serve our millions of customers around the world," the statement reads.

The FTC's complaint (PDF) notes that after Avast acquired then-antivirus competitor Jumpshot in early 2014, it rebranded the company as an analytics seller.

For example, a sample of just 100 entries out of trillions retained by Respondents showed visits by consumers to the following pages: an academic paper on a study of symptoms of breast cancer; Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s presidential candidacy announcement; a CLE course on tax exemptions; government jobs in Fort Meade, Maryland with a salary greater than $100,000; a link (then broken) to the mid-point of a FAFSA (financial aid) application; directions on Google Maps from one location to another; a Spanish-language children’s YouTube video; a link to a French dating website, including a unique member ID; and cosplay erotica.

In a blog post accompanying its announcement, FTC Senior Attorney Lesley Fair writes that, in addition to the dual nature of Avast's privacy products and Jumpshot's extensive tracking, the FTC is increasingly viewing browsing data as "highly sensitive information that demands the utmost care."

"Data about the websites a person visits isn’t just another corporate asset open to unfettered commercial exploitation," Fair writes.

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I used Avast when Windows didn't have a native antimalware. It was free, fast and reliable. Getting malware from usb drives was common. Avast protected my 💻. This news is :(. How hypocritical Avast was to offer privacy solutions and sell user data secretly.