Is PubPeer safe?

Low risk

PubPeer sends publication URLs, DOIs, and PMIDs found on pages to pubpeer.com for comment lookups.

When injected into enabled pages, PubPeer scans page links and body text for publication identifiers and sends URLs plus either PMIDs or DOIs to PubPeer's API. It also writes a pubpeer-extension marker into the page's localStorage, which the visited site can read.

Part of this rating comes from analysis signals we haven't published as detailed findings yet.

PubPeerv1.7.1Firefox Add-ons
17Risk
Who publishes it

PubPeer - no other listings under this identity, 1 shared hostname

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

Publisher
PubPeer

Shared hosts - 1 hostname

Hostnames hardcoded in this extension that few other listings call. That can mean one operator behind both, and it can equally mean a small shared vendor, so it is context rather than a conclusion. Hosts that many listings call are left out: they are services, not connections.

pubpeer.com
Also called by 6 other listings, including Lazy Scholar, PubPeer, GoingMed

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

Publishers can request a review.

What it can do

Permissions this extension asks for, as declared in version 1.7.1. 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 every site you visit

    http://*/*

  • Read and change your data on every secure site you visit

    https://*/*

  • See every page you navigate to, as you navigate to it

    webNavigation

  • Run its own code inside the pages you visit

    scripting

  • Store data in your browser

    storage

Where it sends data

Destinations our analysis observed PubPeer 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.

  • pubpeer.com

    PubPeer sends data to pubpeer.com. 3 other extensions we have analysed send data here.

Updated 30 September 2026amo-499758