LinkedIn wants to take Sell Hack plugin offline

LinkedIn wants to take the Sell Hack plugin offline. Sell ​​Hack is a browser plugin that can retrieve the email address of LinkedIn users with the push of a button. The plugin uses its own data sources, but LinkedIn is not satisfied with that.

When a user installs the Sell Hack plugin, LinkedIn profiles display a ‘Hack in’ button that can retrieve an email address within seconds. Sell ​​Hack’s site states that the plugin only uses publicly available information, but the extension does not specifically state what those sources are. When installed, the plugin also asks for access to the user’s LinkedIn data, but it is unclear why this happens.

LinkedIn has sent the company behind Sell Hack a cease & desist letter warning the people behind the plugin that they are committing ‘multiple violations’. The company informs Gigaom about this. In addition, it is not recommended to install the plugin, as it is not clear what is done with the access to LinkedIn data of its users. Finally, LinkedIn assures users that there are no security issues with the networking site and that nothing has been leaked.