Overview
- BleepingComputer, after testing Friday, observed a LinkedIn script in Chromium browsers checking for 6,236 extensions and logging device details like CPU cores, memory, screen size, and timezone.
- LinkedIn, which responded Friday to BleepingComputer, said it detects certain extensions to curb scraping and protect site stability, and it denied using the data to infer sensitive traits about users.
- Fairlinked’s BrowserGate report alleges LinkedIn fingerprints visitors, links scans to named accounts, profiles company software use, and involves third‑party trackers, though reporters have not verified how the data is used or shared.
- Technical reviews note the detection relies on probing extension resource paths in Chrome and Edge, while Safari’s more restricted extension model limits similar checks and reduces what sites can infer.
- Regulatory stakes are high because LinkedIn is a Digital Markets Act gatekeeper in the EU, and Fairlinked also alleges undisclosed internal systems such as an API called Voyager, as coverage highlights the group’s ties to a litigant named Teamfluence and a German court ruling against that party’s injunction.