A fake Perplexity AI Chrome extension was secretly tracking browser searches — here’s how to check if you installed it

With an abundance of AI tools now widely available, it is no surprise that hackers and scammers are hijacking these popular brand names to distribute malicious software.

Time and again, popular AI chatbots have been used as bait for rogue Google Chrome extensions designed to covertly steal user data and tracking history. Big names like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and DeepSeek have all seen their branding illegally cloned by Chrome browser extensions. To the untrained eye, these tools look entirely legitimate, but underneath, they are harmful data-harvesting programs used by cybercriminals to extract sensitive information.

Unfortunately, this trend has claimed a new victim. Security researchers recently discovered a malicious Chrome extension masquerading as Perplexity AI, which quietly spies on anyone who accidentally installs it.

Here is how to check if your browser has been compromised, and why you need to delete the fake extension immediately.

A fake Perplexity AI Chrome extension that tracks your search data

Microsoft’s Defender Security Research Team recently released a blog post naming the fake Perplexity AI Chrome extension that secretly recorded users’ search history and whatever they were typing.

“The extension routes both full search queries and real-time search suggestions (typed characters) through attacker-controlled infrastructure hosted on a domain not associated with the legitimate vendor, before redirecting users to expected search providers,” the blog post stated. In other words, whenever a user entered whatever they were looking for into Chrome’s search bar, it would initially be funneled through an attacker-controlled server and show them that information before forwarding their search request to a legit search engine. The trustworthy-looking results kept users from suspecting that they were being surveyed on Chrome.

The name of the malicious Chrome extension is “Search for perplexity ai”, which has already been taken down by Google. But if you already installed it on your Chrome browser, you should uninstall it manually as soon as possible. Even though Microsoft Threat Intelligence researchers stated that the extension hasn’t stolen valuable user credentials or other pieces of crucial data, it’s still worth deleting it from your collection of Chrome extensions before attackers go far enough to start stealing your data.

Simply opening your Chrome browser, clicking the three dots in the top right corner of your screen, selecting “Extensions”, going to “Manage extensions” and clicking “Remove” on the extensions you want to delete will get the job done.

The trend of malicious Chrome extensions has been a problem as of late. TechRepublic noted that 900,000+ users were compromised after fake Chrome extensions were linked to stealing ChatGPT and DeepSeek conversations. Plus fake AI extensions, such as “ChatGPT Translator” and “Gemini AI Sidebar”, were downloaded by thousands of users before Google deleted them from the Chrome Web Store. Sadly, there have been an abundance of AI lookalikes that spy on a user’s search history, redirect traffic to attacker servers and harvest emails & passwords.

Bottom line

If you’re an avid Chrome user and make great use of its extensions, it’s definitely worth keeping a close eye out for supposed AI tools that promise to enhance your web searching experience. Extensions with vague names that try to come off as legitimate, such as “AI Assistant”, “AI GPT” and “AI Sidebar,” should instantly ring off your alarm bells.

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