'Comet AI' Discord quest
I installed the Comet AI browser from the Discord quests, but I searched it online and some sources said it scraps data from my PC and uses it to help develop its AI. Does anyone know if this is true? And if it is, what steps should I take to remove it? I've uninstalled the main application off my PC (I use an iMac with macOS) and I before deleting it, I didn't agree to the terms of service and privacy policy. All I've done is installed it, let it run on the start screen for 15 min, move the 'Comet AI' application to my bin and cleared my bin. What should I do?
48 Replies
if you really want the 5000 discord orbs you could just spin up a VM
that's what i did
i already claimed the 5k, do u know what steps i should take towards the comet ai browser thing
you would need to install discord and perplexity in the VM and i just yapped and flirted with the ai chatbot for like 5 minutes before i came back
what steps would you take? they've already taken whatever data they could possibly have taken
it's not like you downloaded straight up malware, it's not like they have a persistence mechanism post uninstall
and if you are that paranoid that they did... i mean you could reinstall macos?
im worried it might constantly scrape out data from my pc
they can already scrape data out of this chat, this chat is public on the internet
Just reinstall the OS, nothing beats peace of mind
if you're that paranoid you can reinstall macos but that would be wiping everything from your mac
would third party uninstallers work? like appcleaner or geekuninstaller
:kalstare:
sure, yes they will work
probably
i have no idea
but if it makes you feel better, ill say it works
😭
like reinstalling comet and using an uninstaller to remove all associated files
whatever
i might just wipe my pc
or live with it
dude for a company as large as perplexity, the benefit they would get from scraping people's computers after install is not worth the bad press of everyone finding out that they produced and made spyware
like that shit could very easily get them in trouble with the US gov
and your data simply isn't that valuable to them
like think of it from perplexity's perspective. they get, what, maybe 10gb of text? that's like not even 5 decent books
and if they get caught, which they will, they can be fined and class actioned easily tens of billions for violating the computer fraud and abuse act
the math simply doesn't work for them
thats true, but like theres no way they benefit such a large promotion, like 5k orbs (which is more than 7 times what other companies offer) for just 15 minutes of runtime?
they can literally just go to a library and get more scans
5k orbs is not a lot of value to discord
it's just a number to discord
we'll never know how much they spent on this advertizing campaign but AI companies these day can only live because of growth
they get way more from telling their investors they saw 40% jump in downloads in september/october than they get from mining your data for an extra two weeks
alright
ill try to block it from my mind, or just reinstall macos
if it helps you sleep at night
and if you are worried about them stealing your data, you should probably stop chatting in this thread since this thread is publicly available on the internet
...nvm not yet
though it probably will be public by tomorrow
but all the threads get published here: https://cyber.support/
Cyber Info
Cyber Info Community
At Cyber Info, we strive to empower every individual with easy access to cybersecurity education
If you're concerned about what any company collects from you, they usually spell it out pretty clearly https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/legal/comet-privacy-notice
Comet Privacy Notice
Privacy • Terms & Conditions
oo ee oo
There's no need to be alarmist about installing an AI browser vs installing any other browser, if you wanna uninstall it, using the normal uninstall methods specific to your OS should get rid of it (if not, I feel like a ton of people would be screaming about perplexity doing sketch shit)
more importantly a ton of people would be suing
But going so far as to wipe your system n stuff is kinda wild imo, perplexity isn't Mr robot tryna track your every day movements without your consent, as that would be unethical and likely illegal in many parts of the world
During the setup screen, there was a button to "get started" and at the bottom there was text saying 'by continuing, you agree to the terms of conditions and privacy policy', i didn't proceed further with the setup process and i just stayed at the start screen
Then yeah just uninstall it and life goes on
alright
These companies wouldn't risk millions in legal and regulatory fees trying to mine data you didn't agree to sharing with them when they have millions of users that did opt in
yeah thats true
im just stressing out because in a few servers that i'm in (like 15k+ members) there's announcements specifically made to warn people not to install Comet and the steps you would take if you already downloaded Comet were full uninstall by using revo uninstaller (which i can't use on mac)
What were the reasons they gave not to install it? Just the fact that you're training their models through usage?
apperantly it's malware that worms into your pc and scraps your data to help the ai develop
allegedly
did they post screenshots of any of the privacy policy at all?
nope
I think that's a wild overstatement without some facts to back it up
just a text message in the announcements channel
Like it wouldn't shock me (I'd expect it) if they trained their models with your data, almost every SaaS consumer AI product does that
I found this post in reddit;
No, Comet AI is not safe to even install. When you install the program, it will worm files into your system and those files with continuously feed the AI with training data based on your saved files such as your art/music. When you uninstall the AI, those files are not uninstalled.
If you already have installed Comet, install REVO uninstaller. If you uninstalled Comet after the quest, re-install it.
Use REVO uninstaller to do a full uninstall on both Comet Browser and the installer, then do an advanced scan for any leftover files. Make sure to clear everything REVO finds, and then you should be fine.
Anyone telling you to install some third-party tool to remove something in a "DO THIS OR YOULL GET PWNED" way is kinda sus
i dont have much really to offer ro perplexity but, i cant really relax knowing there might be a software on my pc that's doing stuff that I dont want
they all mention Revo Uninstaller and no other alternatives which i feel is a bit sketchy, but revo is a trustworthy brand
it could be that they're all going off a singular tech blog or something
they all seem way to similar
id say it's fine to be worried about it but don't let your fear control you
that's just something that you have to learn as you get older
and try not to let people take advantage of your fear to sell you soemthing bad for you
"oh no you got hackt! download this totally legit malware uninstaller!! to unhack urself"!! is a very common trojan vector
my steam account got stolen when i was younger and now im just super paranoid about stuff like this 😭
If you wanna be mad at perplexity, there's non-reddit-rando speculation to be mad at https://blog.cloudflare.com/perplexity-is-using-stealth-undeclared-crawlers-to-evade-website-no-crawl-directives/
The Cloudflare Blog
Perplexity is using stealth, undeclared crawlers to evade website n...
Perplexity is repeatedly modifying their user agent and changing IPs and ASNs to hide their crawling activity, in direct conflict with explicit no-crawl preferences expressed by websites.
again, this chat is public on the internet
perplexity can train on your words that you send in this chat
i mean, its not really the aspect of my data being stolen that bothers me, its more of that there might be software on my pc that's doing stuff without my permission
well you've removed that software
hopefully no files were etched into my mac
yeah all jokes aside, you'll be fine
and if they are still lurking post uninstall, that'll be one hell of a news headline
alright, thanks!