Tell HN: YC companies scrape GitHub activity, send spam emails to users

Source: Hacker News

Background

I recently received an email from a Y Combinator company (Run Anywhere, W26) with the following details:

• From: Aditya
• Subject: Mikołaj, think you’d like this

The email began:

Hi Mikołaj,
I found your GitHub and thought you might like what we’re building.

Similar Incidents

I have also been receiving a large number of similar emails from another AI company, Voice.AI (which does not appear to be Y Combinator‑affiliated). These messages suggest that the companies are:

1. Scraping public GitHub activity.
2. Identifying users who contribute to repositories related to their business domain.
3. Sending marketing emails to those users without obtaining consent.

It appears they are using commit metadata to target potential customers. This practice affects individuals covered by GDPR, including myself.

Actions Taken

• Filed complaints with both organizations; no response has been received yet.
• Contacted GitHub and Y Combinator Ethics to report the issue.

I will provide updates here if I receive any responses.

Additional Information

• Comments URL:
• Points: 46
• Comments: 10