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StumbleUpon - “See Friend Reviews” on Google - Spyware?

It’s a very fine line between being a helpful tool and being spyware and now long time Social Media Optimization favorite StumbleUpon is working on blurring those lines. It seems that some odd behavior has befallen Firefox users who have recently upgraded to the latest version of the toolbar, version 3.15. This latest version comes with a changelog that announces this addition:

Versions 3.15
* Enables SearchReviews opt-in and configuration options for all users.
See: Toolbar -> Tools -> Toolbar Options -> Configuration tab -> Web Search

On previous versions of the Stumbleupon Toolbar you were presented with a choice as to whether or not you wanted your Google Search results injected with Stumbled info. The problem this time comes from the fact that even if you don’t want your Google results to be altered by StumbleUpon and you Opt-Out of this in your settings, you are still presented with an altered version of Google in a very sly way.

Here are the StumbleUpon settings, set to NOT alter your search results:
StumbleUpon Settings for NO Spyware

However, even with these settings turned off, a search on Google still produces a nice little link up at the top that reads See Friend Reviews in the same font as Google up with the rest of the Google Account Options.

StumbleUpon Invades Google like Spyware

This spyware-like behavior is also found on Ask, Yahoo, and MSN.

Wikipedia defines spyware as:

Spyware is computer software that is installed surreptitiously on a personal computer to intercept or take partial control over the user’s interaction with the computer, without the user’s informed consent.

– Wikipedia Definition

It’s fairly obvious that I’ve tried my best (short of uninstalling) to deny my consent to this behavior and though they state upfront that you are opting-in, the ‘configuration options’ section and options within would lead most users to thinking they could disable this “feature”. That, however is not the case and thus starts to blur the line between what is acceptable behavior in regards to your user information and what is actually spyware. Now it’s known that Stumbling is fun and that it can drive traffic and whatnot but surely they could come up with something better than this.

That said if you’re a fan of Stumbling you’re probably wondering:

How to disable StumbleUpon’s “See Friend Reviews” on Google, Yahoo, MSN, and Ask.com

You have 5 options to disable this unwanted behavior:

  1. Uninstall the Toolbar.
  2. Have patience. The link will disappear on it’s own after three weeks.
  3. Get click happy. It will disappear after it’s been clicked three times regardless of your other actions.
  4. OBEY. This link will also go away if you sell your soul to Satan and complete the contact import.
  5. Go for Beta. The beta version of StumbleUpon will allow you to disable the prompt via the “Show StumbleUpon prompts and logos” checkbox on the Configuration tab of the Toolbar Options dialog

Now 5 different options of getting rid of this atrocity is more than Gator will give you. However all of these remain unpublished and unpromoted solutions to this problem. The fact is that even though they might garner some information which makes stumbling better and also new users from this approach, it’s obviously setup to benefit them way more than it would benefit the end user. And when you start digging around trying to figure out different ways to get rid of unwanted behavior from your favorite toolbar, you really have to start questioning it’s intentions in the first place.

UPDATE (11-25-07): It appears that version 3.16 of the Firefox StumbleUpon toolbar includes an OPT-OUT for this. Problem solved. Now you only have it if you want it, which is really how it should be.

posted by greg :: Nov.12.2007 :: SMO Tools, Social Media Optimization  
Be Social (11) :: del.icio.us Digg it ma.gnolia Netscape reddit StumbleUpon

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11 Responses to “StumbleUpon - “See Friend Reviews” on Google - Spyware?”

  1. on 13 Nov 2007 at 5:17 am1Andrew

    Holy crap! I hadn’t even noticed that! WTF is that?

  2. on 13 Nov 2007 at 7:01 am2StumbleUpon the Adware Maker? | Allegedly Amusing Anecdotes

    [...] Googling around a bit, I came across other people who noticed the same thing like on this forum and this blog entry. [...]

  3. on 13 Nov 2007 at 12:55 pm3Anonymous Coward

    Thanks for the removal info. Why the hell is there no disable checkbox?

  4. on 13 Nov 2007 at 7:17 pm4Dustfinger

    How is this spyware? You installed stumbleupon yourself. Yes, a little link can’t be easily removed from the page, but so what? It’s not collecting information, it’s not flashing in your face or stealing your children. It’s just sitting there, as you mentioned in the article, like all the other Google links. Why the ruckus?

  5. on 13 Nov 2007 at 7:39 pm5ROFLface

    @Dustfinger

    It’s spyware because many people installed SumbleUpon before the most recent patch. Previous patches did not contain this “feature” and during the update process, it does not ask if we want to see the link. The user was never informed of its existence, and there is no easy method of removing this unapproved installation, thus making it spyware.

  6. on 13 Nov 2007 at 9:17 pm6chiron613

    I dunno… if it goes away by itself, then what’s it doing? What’s it reporting?

    Following the suggestions in this article, I got the Google page, with no search. It showed that link. I clicked it three times, then refreshed, and it’s gone.

    Assuming I even had to wait the three weeks, what sort of spying would it do? What damage is done?

    Agreed - I don’t like *any* spying, reporting, phoning home, etc., without my knowledge and permission. I often will even grant that permission if asked; but I should always be asked.

    I’m just kind of confused by what they think they’re doing…

  7. on 14 Nov 2007 at 9:05 pm7Dustfinger

    “intercept or take partial control over the user’s interaction with the computer”

    I think you all are confusing unwanted feature with spyware. This link does not take control over your interaction with your computer in any way. It sits there an looks at you.

  8. on 15 Nov 2007 at 11:58 am8Matt

    I totally agree with Dustfinger. You guys are getting just a little overworked about a feature that was added and maybe not documented. It happens all the time in software.

  9. on 15 Nov 2007 at 12:49 pm9lord xeon

    I agree with Dustfinger to the extent that it’s not collecting any information or harming us in any way, so in that sense it’s not spyware.
    However, it is being installed without the consent of the user, and no where is it told that it will appear, or how to get rid of it.

    However, i find it no big deal to my privacy, SU doesn’t have much of my info, so it’s ok. Now if it was going into my Google account to get it, thats a different story.

  10. on 21 Apr 2008 at 10:55 pm10Kirt Andrews

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  11. on 17 May 2008 at 12:01 am11Have you reached the end of the internet? « Geturgeekon’s Weblog

    [...] are those out there that think this walks a fine line between helpful and spyware, but I’m giving it a [...]

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