Type “Perplexity” into the Chrome Web Store and you get a range of browser extensions offering access to the popular AI search service. Until last week, one of them was called “Search for perplexity ai,” and it delivered something extra that users hadn’t bargained for: a small hidden surveillance operation.
On June 29, Microsoft’s Defender Security Research Team revealed that the extension had been impersonating the real AI search company while secretly recording what users typed. Google took it down, but users who already installed it are still at risk.
How the extension harvested user queries
The extension routed user traffic through the typosquatted domain perplexity-ai[.]online rather than the legitimate perplexity.ai. It requested chrome_settings_overrides, the standard permission that lets an extension become the browser’s default search engine.
But it also asked for a rules-based network permission called declarativeNetRequest (DNR), which allowed it to send users’ searches through a server controlled by the attacker. Microsoft said this extra permission wasn’t necessary for the extension’s advertised purpose, making it a warning sign. Neither raised a flag during Web Store review, though.
