Hi HN,

I'm the creator and solo developer behind Browserflow, a Chrome extension that lets you automate any website. (Show HN from around a year ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29254147). Basically, it's a general-purpose browser automation tool like Selenium/Puppeteer/Playwright that anyone can use without writing code.

The Browserflow website includes examples of automations people often request, including scraping popular websites like LinkedIn. A few days ago, I received a cease and desist letter from LinkedIn: https://browserflow.app/linkedin.pdf

As a one-man operation with modest resources, I'm hoping I can get some help from the HN community in understanding what this means to avoid getting sued into oblivion. :)

At first I thought that I'd be fine if I removed all references to LinkedIn from the Browserflow website, but I'm not so sure about that. One of LinkedIn's demands is to “Cease and desist developing, offering, or using software or programs with features developed, marketed, or intended for automating activity on LinkedIn’s website or app, scraping LinkedIn member data, or otherwise violating the LinkedIn User Agreement”.

Even if I removed all the LinkedIn examples, Browserflow could still be used to automate or scrape LinkedIn because, well, it's a browser automation tool. Is LinkedIn demanding that I stop developing Browserflow altogether?

The letter cites hiQ Labs, Inc. v. LinkedIn Corp as the legal precedent for why Browserflow is in violation, but there are some differences between hiQ and Browserflow that I thought might be meaningful:

1. Browserflow is not designed specifically for scraping LinkedIn: It's a tool for general-purpose browser automation, not a service that scrapes LinkedIn and resells the data.

2. Browserflow does not scrape LinkedIn on its own: Any automation of LinkedIn is initiated by the user using their own LinkedIn account.

2. Browserflow does not create or use fake LinkedIn accounts.

I'd be fine with removing all the LinkedIn examples from the website, but I'd like to continue building Browserflow because I love working on it and it's my livelihood. I'd appreciate any advice or help. Thanks!

Ask HN: LinkedIn sent me a cease and desist for my Chrome extension. Help?