Is Earth safe?

Medium risk

Earth replaces your default search engine, routing every address-bar query and keystroke to earthapp.net.

Although Earth presents itself as a maps and wallpaper popup, its manifest sets earthapp.net as the default search provider. Every search you type in the address bar is sent to https://earthapp.net/admin/public/link with your raw query, and each keystroke triggers an autosuggest request to the same domain. The service worker also writes a long-lived 'selectedMap' cookie scoped to earthapp.net, giving those pages a persistent identifier to tie search traffic to your extension state.

Earthv1.0.0.1Chrome Web Store
46Risk

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

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Findings

Search Engine Replaced: Every Query Routed Through earthapp.net to Yahoo

MediumunwantedCWE-359Dynamic sandbox

Installing this extension replaces your default search engine with earthapp.net.

What actually happens

You did this

You install the extension and type any search into the address bar.

The extension did this

Your query is sent to earthapp.net, which forwards it to Yahoo Search with tracking parameters attached.

The browser applies the search provider override from the extension manifest on install. Every subsequent address-bar query and partial-keystroke autosuggest request goes to earthapp.net before reaching any search engine.

Captured request

GEThttps://earthapp.net/admin/public/link?q=<planted-marker>

HTTP 302 redirect to https://uk.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?hspart=infospace&hsimp=yhs-earth&type=ud-c-gb--s-p-t4vs5676--exp-none--subid-none&param1=w16osb6ce37jfwlt8etw213s&p=<planted-marker>, query string preserved in Yahoo's p= parameter.

The code that does this

The manifest declaration that triggers the search override on install.

Readable version
// From manifest.json — no runtime code needed.// Chrome applies this on install, replacing the user's current default search engine.// search_url: where each submitted query goes (q= parameter carries the search terms)// suggest_url: where partial keystrokes go as you type (real-time autosuggest)// is_default: true  ← forces this as the browser default, not an optional secondary engine

Where search queries are sent

    • earthapp.net

    Receives every address-bar search and autosuggest keystroke, then redirects to Yahoo Search with affiliate tracking parameters (hspart=infospace, hsimp=yhs-earth).

    • uk.search.yahoo.com

    Final search results destination. Receives the forwarded query with earthapp.net attribution parameters. Yahoo is the underlying search provider in this redirect chain.

Check if you're affected

Checks whether the Earth extension has replaced your default search engine by inspecting the Chrome Preferences file.

Requires
  • macOS or Linux
  • Chrome closed before running
check-earth-search-override.sh · sh
#!/bin/sh# check-earth-search-override.sh# Checks Chrome's Preferences file for the earthapp.net search provider override.# Run from any shell. Chrome must be closed or the file may be locked.PREFS="$HOME/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Preferences"# Linux pathif [ ! -f "$PREFS" ]; then  PREFS="$HOME/.config/google-chrome/Default/Preferences"fiif [ ! -f "$PREFS" ]; then  echo "Chrome Preferences file not found. Chrome may not be installed or path differs."  exit 1fiif grep -q 'earthapp.net' "$PREFS"; then  echo "FOUND: earthapp.net appears in Chrome Preferences — search override is active."  grep -o '"search_url":"[^"]*earthapp[^"]*"' "$PREFS" | head -5else  echo "NOT FOUND: earthapp.net is not set as a search provider in this Chrome profile."fi
How to run it
  1. 1Close Chrome.
  2. 2Run: sh check-earth-search-override.sh.
  3. 3FOUND = the override is active; NOT FOUND = already removed or Chrome path differs.

What it can do

Permissions this extension asks for, as declared in version 1.0.0.1. Asking for a permission is not a finding on its own - it is what the extension can do if it chooses to.

  • Read and change your data on earthapp.net

    *://earthapp.net/*

  • Store data in your browser

    storage

  • Read and change cookies, including the ones that keep you signed in

    cookies

Where it sends data

Destinations our analysis observed Earth 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.

  • earthapp.net

    Earth sends data to earthapp.net. No other extension we have analyzed sends data here.

Updated 2 November 2026hnfdneofpohlkoeljnmkdocokcdkjiaa