Privacy Researcher Claims Anthropic's Claude Desktop Installs 'Spyware Bridge' — Pre-Authorized Browser Extensions Without Consent

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Privacy consultant Alexander Hanff alleges Claude Desktop for macOS installs a pre-positioned integration layer that writes configuration files for other vendors' browsers, authorizes browser extensions without user consent, and creates a persistent bridge from extensions into a local executable running outside the browser sandbox. The 102-point HN story (31 comments) and follow-up Register coverage notes the approach may violate EU Directive 2002/58/EC Article 5(3). Anthropic has not responded. For builders using Claude Desktop, this raises questions about tool trust boundaries — what other development tools are silently modifying your system config?