Perplexity Comet: Concerns about privacy and security

Comet is a browser developed by Perplexity that uses the Californian startup's AI search engine and AI assistant. It can therefore perform various actions on behalf of the user. For a personalized experience, you need to grant access to your data. This raises several privacy and security concerns.

Google Account in the Hands of Comet

Artificial intelligence is now a mainstream technology. Google has "forced" the AI Overview feature on everyone, and the same will happen with AI Mode. New smartphones are packed with AI features, and the next step is AI browsers , like Perplexity's.

In addition to finding answers to queries and generating information summaries using the built-in search engine, Comet can perform various tasks autonomously on the user's behalf. The blog post announcing the browser's launch states that " Comet is like a second brain that helps you make the best possible decisions in every situation ."

To provide personalized help, it needs access to user data. You can connect your Google account to your browser. Comet accesses public data and your email address by default. Users can grant permissions to perform actions on email, calendars, and contacts, including viewing, editing, and downloading. Perplexity emphasizes that the data is stored locally on the device, but may be used to improve the browsing experience, detect technical issues, and improve AI models.

Perplexity is obviously not the only company seeking access to data to offer a personalized experience. Signal President Meredith Whittaker recently highlighted the risks associated with using AI agents. Allowing AI to perform actions on users' behalf is tantamount to " putting your brain in a jar ."

An AI agent can book a table at a restaurant or buy a concert ticket, but the user must grant permission to access the browser, login passwords, and credit card information. All this information must be accessible in clear text because no AI model supports encryption. It's perhaps better to perform these actions without an AI agent.