PayPal’s Honey browser faces significant backlash as three major affiliate networks terminate their partnership with the publisher amid fraudulent claims.
Rakuten Advertising, impact.com and Awin have all removed the Honey browser extension from their respective affiliate networks.
Honey, a tool that helps consumers find the best deals and coupons online, was first accused of fraud, misleading users on discounts and causing financial loss to creators in December 2024 by YouTuber MegaLag.
Following a prolonged investigation, MegaLag reported that Rakuten Advertising was the first to remove the Honey browser extension from its affiliate network on 12 January 2026.
According to the tech journalist, this move means the PayPal owned tool loses access to around 2,000 retail partners including Walmart, Sephora, Lego, Uniqlo and Dyson.
Rakuten Advertising is one of the largest affiliate marketing networks within retail globally.
The company has not publicly stated its reasons for terminating the partnership, but did email clients about the Honey’s access being removed effective immediately.
impact.com and Awin followed a few days later.
David Yovanno, CEO of impact.com, said in a statement that it has suspended the Honey Browser extension over non-compliance.
He said: “During a recent review, our team has determined that the account, Honey Science Corporation, is not in compliance with the impact.com partner terms and conditions. As a result, their access to the impact.com marketplace has been terminated, effective immediately.
“To protect the integrity and security of our platform, we are unable to provide specific details regarding this violation. We recommend you review your relationship with this partner. If you would like to continue working with Honey Science Corporation, no action is required.”
According to Yovanno, Honey allegedly violated its stand-down requirements, which includes policies around attribution interference.
A statement from Awin echoed a similar sentiment. It said: “As soon as Awin Group became aware of the allegations raised publicly, we opened a formal internal investigation into the activity in question.
“That investigation has since confirmed breaches of our publisher policies. Honey has confirmed they regret the impact this situation has had and agreed that they will work with us to remediate that impact, while supporting us in raising standards.
“[…] In line with our standard enforcement processes, Awin Group immediately took protective actions. These included suspending payments and access to new advertiser programs. As of today, these measures remain in place.”
While Awin acknowledged that a breach has occurred, the company highlighted that its Soft Click technology has been active, which “materially reduces the risk of misattribution of publisher value (or commission) and limits direct harm to publishers and creators”.
The move follows an amended lawsuit that was filed by influencers against Honey, accusing it of replacing continent creators’ affiliate links with its own and diverting commissions to PayPal.
Honey has agreed to collaborate with Awin to remediate the situation and has offered to fund and support the following:
Affiliate network (or mutually agreed third party) access to relevant source code for verification;
Policies for advertisers to manage coupon codes, including removal of unauthorised or invalid codes; and
Ongoing co-operation with networks and wider industry compliance and network quality teams, including advance notification of material changes to attribution or stand-down logic.
A spokesperson for PayPal Honey told Hello Partner: “The code causing this behaviour has been identified and no longer has an impact. The code was implemented prior to PayPal’s acquisition, and appears to affect less than 0.1% of Honey’s traffic.
“[…] PayPal is committed to ensuring a fair ecosystem, and we fully support guidelines and principles for the entire ecosystem that will help all industry players thrive while delivering value to our various customers.”