Super Mario data-slurping scare hits the Google Chrome web store

Fancy a game of Super Mario for free? Well, be careful – because although you may not have to pay any money for it, you might just be giving away a lot of your private data.

Blogger David Rogers has described how he stumbled across something interesting on the Google’s Chrome web store – a playable Super Mario app that – can also access data from all the websites you visit, your browsing history, and your bookmarks.

If you were a fan of Nintendo’s dungaree-wearing moustachioed Italian plumber, would you bother to read the small print or just be terribly excited at the prospect of playing “Super Mario World” in your browser?

Of course, these apps (technically they’re browser extensions rather than apps..) aren’t endorsed or developed by Nintendo, and by downloading and playing these pale imitations you’re only…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

Found this article interesting? Follow Graham Cluley on Twitter or Mastodon to read more of the exclusive content we post.


Graham Cluley is a veteran of the cybersecurity industry, having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Bluesky, or drop him an email.

What do you think? Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.