Is Adblock for YouTube Block Ads Skip Video Sponsored safe?

Medium risk

Adblock for YouTube Block Ads Skip Video Sponsored rewrites matching merchant tabs to affiliate links from Google Sheets.

The extension fetches a CSV from Google Sheets every 10 minutes and uses it as a map of merchant domains to affiliate URLs. When a browser tab loads an HTTP or HTTPS page whose hostname matches that remote list, the background service worker saves the original URL and redirects the tab to the configured affiliate link, then may restore the original product page after the affiliate flow completes.

Ads Blocker Officev1.20Chrome Web Store
45Risk
Who publishes it

Ads Blocker Office - no other listings under this identity

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

Publisher
Ads Blocker Office
Registered address
Strada 1848, Tulcea, Tulcea 820127, RO
Registered contact
Gidan Catalin

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

Publishers can request a review.

Findings

Remote CSV triggers affiliate redirects for matching merchant tabs

When you browse to a merchant domain matching the extension's remote CSV, it can redirect that tab to an affiliate URL.

The config is fetched from a Google Sheets CSV; redirect logic uses page URL and tab info to decide when to update it.

Severity
Medium unwanted
Type
Unexpected
CWE
CWE-506
Source
Dynamic sandbox
What actually happens
You did this

You navigate to a merchant page whose hostname matches the remote configuration.

The extension did this

The service worker compares the tab URL with a Google Sheets CSV and redirects matching tabs to configured affiliate URLs.

Captured request
GETdocs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qByDocMKovm-Ysgt4rZCMK4d2IwO_QeZHUTKk1UeodQ/export?format=csv
Fields used to decide redirects
  • Your browsing URL
    https://www.example-store.com/product/123 (illustrative)

    The extension checks the page address to decide whether the current site matches a remote affiliate rule.

  • Tab information
    tab 42 on www.example-store.com (illustrative)

    The extension uses the active tab's URL and tab identifier so it can update the matching tab to the configured affiliate destination.

Where it sends data

Destinations our analysis observed Adblock for YouTube Block Ads Skip Video Sponsored contacting. Sending data somewhere is not a finding on its own - an extension that syncs your settings has to talk to its own server - but it is where your data can go, and who else it goes to.

  • docs.google.com

    Adblock for YouTube Block Ads Skip Video Sponsored sends data to docs.google.com. 20 other extensions we have analysed send data here.

Updated 30 September 2026jommjfmgoppjeijmhlkkjookljmipnfi