Claude Desktop 'Spyware' Concerns Resurface — 288 Upvotes on Browser Extension Auto-Install Behavior

r/ClaudeAI / The Register / Malwarebytes·medium signal

A r/ClaudeAI post titled 'Spyware?' with a verified Anthropic-signed file screenshot hit 288 upvotes, resurfacing April 2026 allegations that Claude Desktop auto-installs browser bridge files (com.anthropic.claude_browser_extension.json) into Chrome, Brave, Edge, Arc, Vivaldi, and Opera config directories — even for browsers not installed. Privacy researcher Alexander Hanff contends this violates European privacy law. Anthropic's own data shows an 11.2% prompt injection success rate on the Chrome extension.