Is Active8 safe?

Medium risk

Active8 is medium risk. DA confirmed Active8 replaces your default search engine with one the developer controls. Every address-bar search goes to y.activate-tab.com/search, forwarded to Yahoo via an affiliate channel. The listing describes only sports imagery.

Syndic8v1.0.4Chrome Web Store
45Risk
Who publishes it

Syndic8 Asia Pte Ltd - 5 other listings from the same operator, 2 of them carrying a finding

What this publisher told the store about itself, and the other listings that told it the same thing.

Publisher
Syndic8
Declared legal entity
Syndic8 Asia Pte Ltd
Registered address
410 North Bridge Road, Singapore 188726, Singapore

Same store account

5 other listings published from this account, 110k+ users between them. 2 of them carry a finding.

The World Tab30k+LowGPT Extension20k+CleanCity Scapes20k+HighMajestic Mountain Views20k+MediumBeautiful Beaches Tab20k+Clean

AI-generated. Findings may contain errors. Those marked Verified have been manually reviewed.

Publishers can request a review.

Findings

SeverityMEDIUM
ClassUNWANTED
TypeUnexpected
CWECWE-506
SourceAI SANDBOX

Search Engine Replaced to Route Queries Through Undisclosed Affiliate Redirect

DA confirmed Active8 replaces your default search engine with one the developer controls.

Every address-bar search goes to y.activate-tab.com/search, forwarded to Yahoo via an affiliate channel.

The listing describes only sports imagery.

01EvidenceCAUSE EFFECT
What actually happens
You did this

You install the Active8 extension from the Chrome Web Store.

The extension did this

Chrome replaces your default search engine with one pointing to y.activate-tab.com/search.

Every address bar query is now routed through the developer's redirect service before reaching a search results page. No prompt or disclosure is shown during or after install.

02EvidenceNETWORK CAPTURE
Captured request
GEThttps://y.activate-tab.com/search?q=<search_query>
302 redirect to https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?hspart=syndic8&hsimp=yhs-active8&p=<search_query>&type=sourceAUD9999, query preserved end-to-end through Yahoo affiliate channel.
03EvidenceCODE COMPARE
The code that does this

manifest.json, search engine override declaration

What it actually does
// chrome_settings_overrides.search_provider.is_default = true
// means Chrome registers this as the *default* search engine on install.
// All omnibox / address-bar searches go to:
//   https://y.activate-tab.com/search?q=<your query>
// which 302-redirects to Yahoo Search with affiliate parameters:
//   hspart=syndic8  (Yahoo syndication partner ID)
//   hsimp=yhs-active8  (campaign / sub-affiliate tag)
// The developer earns a share of Yahoo ad revenue for each search routed.
04EvidenceTHIRD PARTY LIST
Hosts that receive search queries
  • y.activate-tab.com

    Developer-operated redirect service. Receives every search query typed by the user, then forwards to Yahoo with affiliate attribution parameters.

  • search.yahoo.com

    Yahoo Search, terminal destination. Receives the search query along with Yahoo affiliate identifiers (hspart=syndic8, hsimp=yhs-active8) that credit the developer for the traffic.

05EvidencePLAIN NOTE
CWS listing vs. actual behavior

The Chrome Web Store listing describes Active8 as: *"Empower each session with the the worlds best sports imagery!"* No mention of a search engine change or affiliate monetisation appears in the listing, the permissions prompt, or the extension UI.

What it can do

Permissions this extension asks for, as declared in version 1.0.4. Asking for a permission is not a finding on its own - it is what the extension can do if it chooses to.

  • Store data in your browser

    storage

Updated 30 September 2026amelaaifnhgegallekdnnfndlilhhmde