Is ShopNow safe?
ShopNow replaces the default search engine and injects a cookie-derived affiliate tracking parameter into navigations to alphashopnow.co.
On installation, the extension reads a cookie named 'id' from alphashopnow.co and uses its value to configure a declarativeNetRequest redirect rule. Any subsequent main-frame navigation to alphashopnow.co has an 'atr' query parameter appended, encoding the cookie value as an affiliate identifier. The extension also sets alphashopnow.co as the browser's default search provider.
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Findings
ShopNow adds a cookie value to AlphaShopNow URLs
When ShopNow is installed, its service worker reads the AlphaShopNow `id` cookie if present, URI-encodes it into the `atr` query parameter, and installs a rule so navigations to `alphashopnow.co` carry that value in the URL.
You install ShopNow while alphashopnow.co has an `id` cookie in your browser.
The extension reads that cookie value and configures AlphaShopNow page loads to include it as an `atr` URL parameter.
| Field | Value | Why it matters | |
|---|---|---|---|
AlphaShopNow cookie value | shopper-id-12345 (illustrative) | This connects the page request to an existing browser cookie for the same site. | |
AlphaShopNow page URL | https://alphashopnow.co/products/example?atr=shopper-id-12345 (illustrative) | This shows which page you are loading when the cookie-derived parameter is attached. | |
Attribution parameter | atr=shopper-id-12345 (illustrative) | This is the URL field that carries the cookie value on matching navigations. |
Install handler reads the cookie and writes it into the navigation rule
chrome.runtime.onInstalled.addListener(function (details) {
chrome.cookies.get({url: "https://alphashopnow.co", name: "id"},function(id) {
if (id) {
cohort(id.value);
}
});
});
function cohort(id) {
fetch(
chrome.runtime.getURL('rules.json'))
.then(r => {
return r.json();
})
.then(j => {
j.addRules[0].action.redirect.transform.queryTransform.addOrReplaceParams[0].value = encodeURIComponent(id);
chrome.declarativeNetRequest.updateDynamicRules(j);
});
}{
"addRules":[
{
"id": 1,
"priority": 1,
"condition": {
"regexFilter": "^https://alphashopnow.co/",
"resourceTypes": ["main_frame"]
},
"action": {
"type": "redirect",
"redirect": {
"transform": {
"queryTransform": {
"addOrReplaceParams": [
{"key": "atr", "value": ""}
]
}
}
}
}
}
],
"removeRuleIds": [1]
}- alphashopnow.co
Receives matching main-frame navigations after the extension appends the cookie-derived atr query parameter.