Developer Says AI Scanner Error Led to Chrome Extension Malware Enforcement

Summary

The developer of Magic Actions for YouTube, a Chrome extension with about one million active users and more than 15 years of history, says Chrome suddenly displayed a malware warning and disabled the installed extension. The developer reports that Search Console and Google Safe Browsing showed no issues, while the Chrome update service returned a malware flag and no update for the extension. According to the post, more than 60 traditional antivirus engines marked the CRX as clean, but the crowdsourced VirusTotal contributor ExodiaLabs produced an AI-generated analysis claiming that the extension created context-menu links and sent an anonymous user ID and telemetry to an external site. The developer says those claims are false and that the package had been manually approved by the Chrome Web Store team, although a reply cautions that the reported behaviors should be addressed with evidence if they are present. Another participant says the extension-level update-service flag, rather than the Safe Browsing site list, explains the browser warning; other extensions appear to have been removed at the account level. The developer says the account and multiple extensions were suspended within minutes and that appeals and a Chromium issue report were filed. The discussion does not establish that an AI hallucination caused Google’s enforcement: the causal link is the developer’s allegation, while the thread provides technical observations about the block and calls for safeguards and human review before AI-generated security findings trigger disabling actions.