Urban VPN Proxy Harvests AI Chatbot Conversations and Sells Data
Urban VPN Proxy, a popular browser extension marketed as a free clientless VPN for Chrome, has been found to secretly collect and sell user conversations from major AI chatbot platforms to third-party data brokers. Security researchers at Koi Security revealed that since July, the extension has harvested every prompt and response from platforms including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, DeepSeek, Grok, and Meta AI, impacting approximately 8 million users. The data collection occurs regardless of whether the VPN feature is enabled, and users have no option to disable this surveillance except by uninstalling the extension. Additional extensions from the same publisher, such as 1ClickVPN Proxy, Urban Browser Guard, and Urban Ad Blocker, also engage in similar data harvesting activities, despite carrying "Featured" badges in browser app stores, which typically indicate a level of trust and manual review.
The exposure of this privacy violation highlights significant risks associated with browser extensions, especially those that interact with sensitive AI platforms. The incident underscores the need for stricter vetting of browser extensions and greater transparency regarding data collection practices. Users and organizations relying on browser-based AI tools should review installed extensions for potential privacy risks and consider removing those with questionable data handling practices, even if they appear reputable or highly rated in official app stores.
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How this story unfolded
2 events from the most recent confirmed update back to the earliest known activity.
Researchers disclose Urban VPN and related extensions' AI chat surveillance
In December 2025, reporting based on Koi Security's findings revealed that Urban VPN Proxy was intercepting conversations from platforms including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, DeepSeek, Grok, and Meta AI, and sending the data to Urban VPN servers and ultimately to data broker BiScience. The same reporting said related extensions such as 1ClickVPN Proxy and Urban Browser Guard engaged in similar surveillance, and that uninstalling the extensions was the only way to stop it.
Urban VPN Proxy version 5.5.0 begins harvesting AI chatbot conversations
Koi Security reported that Urban VPN Proxy started covertly collecting prompts, responses, conversation IDs, timestamps, session metadata, and model details from major AI chatbot platforms beginning with version 5.5.0. The surveillance operated by default in the background even when the VPN was not enabled.
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Urban VPN Proxy Surreptitiously Intercepts AI Chats
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Urban VPN Proxy Chrome Extension Harvests AI Chatbot Conversations
The Urban VPN Proxy Chrome extension, boasting over 6 million installs and a "Featured" badge on the Chrome Web Store, was discovered secretly collecting and exfiltrating user conversations with major AI chatbots, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, DeepSeek, Grok, and Meta AI. Researchers found that a silent update in July 2025 (version 5.5.0) introduced hidden code that intercepts every prompt and response exchanged with these AI platforms, along with conversation identifiers, timestamps, and session metadata. The extension, which markets itself as a privacy and security tool, continued to harvest data regardless of whether the VPN service was active, betraying user trust and bypassing normal browser security boundaries. Captured data was sent to Urban VPN’s servers and subsequently sold to marketing analytics firms, notably BiScience, a known data broker. The malicious behavior was enabled by script injection that overrode browser APIs such as `fetch()` and `XMLHttpRequest()`, ensuring all relevant traffic was intercepted. The extension’s widespread distribution and high user ratings, combined with its presence on both Chrome and Edge marketplaces, amplified the impact of this breach. The incident highlights the risks posed by browser extensions with privileged access and the potential for abuse even among highly rated and officially endorsed add-ons.
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Malicious Chrome Extensions Steal ChatGPT and DeepSeek Conversations
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