AirReview Chrome Extension: new permissions

[Lenore22]

My AirReview extension (which allows hosts to see the reviews potential guests have left for previous stays) is disabled. To re-enable it, we are asked to accept the new permissions:

"Read & Change all your data on the websites you visit)

read & *CHANGE* ALL my data?!?!

Doesn't this seem a bit extreme?  Why would they need such unilateral control? Who has enabled these new permissions?  It's kinda freaking me out...

[Pat271]

AirReview, and many other extensions, require read/write access to the html on your web page, in order to insert the guest review after the host review on the Airbnb web page. Some operating systems and browsers will confirm with you to change these permissions, and some just change the permissions without confirmation.

It is true that this isn’t altogether safe, depending on the extension being installed. Some companies installing extensions on your computer are more trustworthy than others. There are other extensions you probably have installed that also use these permissions, like password managers, etc. 

Here is a good layman’s description of why extensions might need these permissions:

https://www.howtogeek.com/291095/why-do-chrome-extensions-need-all-your-data-on-the-websites-you-vis...

[Lenore22]

Thank you @Pat271 That makes sense.  It was the write permissions that had me leery, but you're right, they publish potential guests' reviews right on the page (which we love) and that requires write permissions.  Thanks for taking the time to offer your helpful insights.

Cheers,

Lenore

[Lisa723]

AirReview is malware, unfortunately.

[Pat271]

@Lisa723  Malware implies ill intent. How is AirReview malware?

[Lisa723]

@Pat271 it performs unauthorized/unexpected modifications. For example, my default search engine kept getting reset to Yahoo. (Redirect virus.) Antiviral software identified AirReview as the culprit, and when I removed it the problem stopped. Who knows what else it did. I should have known better than to trust free software of unestablished origin.

[Pat271]

@Lisa723 

AirReview is owned by RankBreeze, who produce a suite of property management products. They publish updates regularly, and their products, including AirReview, are made available via the Chrome Web Store and the Mozilla Firefox Browser Add-On portal. Those stores will typically remove extensions if they are rumored to have any kind of viruses or malware.

Of course, nothing is ever fail-safe, and you should only install software if you feel comfortable and safe doing so.

However, if you ever want to explore this further, RankBreeze has a website and offers support for AirReview for any issues of concern.