Is Ant Video Downloader safe?
Ant Video Downloader captures YouTube session cookies and stream cookies, forwarding them to a locally-installed native host app.
The extension monitors all HTTP request and response headers across every browser tab to identify downloadable video streams (HLS, MPD, Vimeo). When a YouTube video page is visited, injected scripts override XMLHttpRequest and fetch to capture the page's cookies and relay them to the background. On download, the extension sends the video descriptor — including captured cookies — to a native messaging host (com.ant.avdcc.host) installed on the user's machine.
Who publishes itANT - no other listings under this identity, 2 shared hostnames
ANT - no other listings under this identity, 2 shared hostnames
What this publisher told the store about itself, and the other listings that told it the same thing.
Shared hosts - 2 hostnames
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.
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 4.18. 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
<all_urls>
See the address and title of every tab you have open
tabs
Act on the current tab, but only after you click the extension
activeTab
Store data in your browser
storage
Store an unlimited amount of data in your browser
unlimitedStorage
See every page you navigate to, as you navigate to it
webNavigation
Watch every request your browser makes
webRequest
Talk to a program installed on your computer, outside the browser's sandbox
nativeMessaging
Read and change cookies, including the ones that keep you signed in
cookies
Start, monitor and manage your downloads
downloads
Add items to the right-click menu
contextMenus
Where it sends data
Destinations our analysis observed Ant Video Downloader 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.
- com.ant.avdcc.host (local native app)
Ant Video Downloader sends data to com.ant.avdcc.host (local native app). Named as a recipient in this extension's own analysis.