Project ideas from Hacker News discussions.

LinkedIn checks for 2953 browser extensions

Original Article

Hacker News Discussion

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

Three dominant themes in the discussion

#	Theme	Key points & quotes
1	Security & privacy risk	LinkedIn’s extension‑fingerprinting is seen as a new vulnerability that should be fixed. • “This is a security vulnerability and should be patched.” – ronsor • “Should be patched nonetheless though, that’s a pretty obscene fingerprinting vector.” – jsheard
2	Technical mechanics & browser differences	How the probe works and why it behaves differently in Chrome vs Firefox. • “Firefox already mitigates this by randomizing the extension path.” – jsheard • “Chrome, these are available in a webpage via the URL chrome‑extension://[PACKAGE ID]/[PATH]” – cbsks • “Firefox randomizes the extension ID for each restart.” – tech234a
3	Scraping, data‑collection ethics, and LinkedIn’s stance	Debate over whether LinkedIn’s checks are justified, how they relate to scraping, and the broader data‑broker debate. • “LinkedIn wants you using their tools not 3rd party.” – jppope • “LinkedIn considers the data valuable… the scrapers undermine that.” – nitwit005 • “I think it was a legitimate use… we were making LinkedIn more useful to some of their actual customers.” – josephg

These three themes capture the core concerns—security, technical implementation, and the ethical debate around LinkedIn’s extension‑fingerprinting.

🚀 Project Ideas

Extension Fingerprint Shield

Summary

Blocks LinkedIn’s extension‑fingerprinting probes by intercepting requests to chrome-extension://… URLs and returning a 404 or aborting the request.
Provides a UI that lists which extensions LinkedIn is probing and offers quick‑disable or uninstall options.

Details

Key	Value
Target Audience	Chrome users concerned about privacy and LinkedIn bot detection.
Core Feature	Request interception, UI dashboard, auto‑block list.
Tech Stack	Chrome Extension API, Service Worker, React for UI.
Difficulty	Medium
Monetization	Hobby

Notes

Users like “LinkedIn is fingerprinting extensions” and “I’m shocked this works.” This tool directly addresses that pain point.
The extension can be discussed on HN as a lightweight privacy fix, sparking debate about browser fingerprinting.

Fingerprint Insight Dashboard

Summary

A web service that aggregates LinkedIn’s extension‑fingerprinting list, cross‑checks it against a user’s installed extensions, and assigns a risk score.
Offers actionable recommendations (disable, uninstall, or replace) and tracks changes over time.

Details

Key	Value
Target Audience	Recruiters, sales pros, privacy‑savvy users, extension developers.
Core Feature	Extension list ingestion, risk scoring, recommendation engine.
Tech Stack	Node.js, Express, PostgreSQL, Vue.js, Docker.
Difficulty	High
Monetization	Revenue‑ready: subscription tiers ($5/mo for advanced analytics).

Notes

Commenters note “LinkedIn wants you using their tools not 3rd party” and “scraping abuse.” This dashboard gives users visibility and control.
The service can be a discussion starter about the ethics of bot detection and data scraping.

Randomized Extension ID Proxy

Summary

A lightweight Chrome extension that randomizes the extension ID (chrome-extension://<id>/…) per browser session, mimicking Firefox’s moz-extension://<UUID>/… behavior to thwart fingerprinting.
Includes a toggle to enable/disable randomization and a log of generated IDs.

Details

Key	Value
Target Audience	Chrome users who want Firefox‑level privacy.
Core Feature	Session‑based ID randomization, request rewriting.
Tech Stack	Chrome Extension API, Service Worker, plain JavaScript.
Difficulty	Low
Monetization	Hobby

Notes

Addresses the frustration “why can’t they patch that” and “Firefox already mitigates this.” Users will appreciate a simple fix that restores privacy without changing browsers.
The idea invites discussion on browser security models and potential side effects on web apps.