Something unsettling is circulating in the private Slack channels and Discord servers where serious Amazon sellers congregate: Helium 10, the dominant Amazon research and optimization suite used by an estimated 2 million sellers worldwide, is allegedly in advanced discussions with Amazon’s Selling Partner API division about a data-sharing arrangement that multiple sources describe as deeply troubling for competitive intelligence.
The rumor, which has been ricocheting through communities including the Helium 10 Elite Facebook group, Brandon Young’s Data Dive mastermind circles, and several invite-only seller Slack channels since late May 2026, centers on an alleged arrangement in which Helium 10 would provide Amazon with aggregated — but allegedly traceable — seller search behavior, keyword research cadences, and product opportunity scoring data in exchange for enhanced API access and priority placement in Amazon’s Seller Central app store.
Helium 10 has not publicly addressed the rumors. Amazon declined to comment. But the silence itself is being read as confirmation in some quarters.
What exactly is Helium 10 allegedly sharing with Amazon?
Sources close to the matter say the alleged data-sharing agreement, if finalized, would involve Helium 10 transmitting anonymized but statistically reversible datasets to Amazon’s internal retail intelligence teams. Specifically, the data reportedly includes aggregated keyword search volume queries run through Helium 10’s Cerebro and Magnet tools, product niche scoring data from its Black Box feature, and trend signals generated by its Xray Chrome extension.
The concern among power sellers is not so much the aggregated data — Amazon already has vast keyword intelligence from its own search engine — but the behavioral metadata: which niches are being researched most aggressively by which seller account tiers, and at what velocity.
“If Amazon can see that 400 sellers using a specific tool are all suddenly researching the same niche in the same two-week window, that’s not anonymized anymore. That’s a directional signal Amazon can act on before those sellers even launch.” — A seven-figure private label seller who asked not to be identified
The concern is not without precedent. Amazon has faced repeated accusations over the years of using third-party seller data to inform its own private label decisions — allegations the company has strenuously denied, and which were the subject of a 2020 Wall Street Journal investigation and subsequent congressional scrutiny.
Who are the key figures at the center of this controversy?
Manny Coats, the co-founder of Helium 10, and Guillermo Puyol, its CEO, have both remained conspicuously quiet on social media since the rumors began circulating on approximately May 28, 2026. Coats, who remains active on LinkedIn and in the AM/PM Podcast ecosystem, has not addressed the allegations in any public forum as of press time.
Meanwhile, Brandon Young, founder of Data Dive and a prominent voice in the Amazon seller education space, reportedly addressed the rumors on a private Zoom call for his Seller Systems mastermind on June 3, calling the alleged arrangement “the kind of thing that should get every serious seller rethinking their tool stack immediately.” Young has not confirmed this characterization publicly, and his team did not respond to a request for comment.
“The tools we use to beat Amazon’s algorithm shouldn’t become a feed for Amazon’s own competitive intelligence operation. That’s a fundamental conflict of interest.” — Kevin King, Amazon seller educator and Billion Dollar Seller Summit host, in a post shared to his private community that was subsequently screenshotted and circulated
Kevin King, who hosts the Billion Dollar Seller Summit and co-hosts the AM/PM Podcast with Coats, appears to have distanced himself from the controversy publicly, though sources say he expressed concern in private communications. King did not respond to requests for comment.
Is there precedent for tool providers sharing seller intelligence with Amazon?
This is not the first time the relationship between Amazon’s Selling Partner API ecosystem and third-party tool providers has raised eyebrows. In 2023, several sellers flagged that certain repricing tools were transmitting pricing floor and ceiling data to Amazon at a granularity that appeared to exceed the stated terms of their API agreements. Amazon updated its SP-API terms of service in Q1 2024 to tighten data usage restrictions, but enforcement has been inconsistent according to sellers and agency operators who work closely with the platform.
The broader concern is structural. Helium 10’s entire value proposition — and that of competitors like Jungle Scout, Data Dive, and Perpetua — is built on giving sellers an intelligence edge. If that intelligence is being funneled back to the marketplace operator, the tool effectively becomes a double agent.
- Helium 10 reportedly has 2 million registered users and processes millions of keyword and product research queries monthly
- Jungle Scout, the closest competitor, has not been named in the current allegations and its CEO Greg Mercer has not commented
- Data Dive has reportedly seen a spike in free trial sign-ups since the rumors began, suggesting some sellers are already shopping alternatives
- Perpetua (now part of Xmars) operates primarily in the advertising optimization layer and is not implicated in the current allegations
- Amazon’s SP-API developer agreement prohibits sharing seller data with Amazon for competitive purposes, but the definition of “competitive” is disputed
How are agencies and managed service providers reacting?
Several Amazon agency operators contacted for this story said they are taking the allegations seriously, even in the absence of confirmation. At least two mid-sized agencies — one based in Austin, the other in London — told Ecommerce Times they have internally paused new Helium 10 enterprise seat purchases pending clarification.
“We have clients spending $800K to $2 million a year on Amazon advertising. If their keyword research behavior is being used to inform Amazon’s own category strategy, that’s a material risk we have to disclose. We can’t just ignore this because it’s unconfirmed.” — Agency operator who manages Amazon accounts for eight-figure DTC brands, speaking on background
The agency community’s concern is amplified by the timing. Q3 2026 is a critical pre-Prime Day research window, and sellers are currently running aggressive keyword and niche research in preparation for late July inventory positioning. If the alleged data-sharing arrangement is active now, the timing could not be more consequential.
What does this mean for the broader Amazon tool ecosystem?
Regardless of whether the Helium 10 allegations are ultimately confirmed or denied, the rumor has reopened a long-simmering debate about the structural conflict of interest baked into Amazon’s third-party tool ecosystem. Every major research and optimization tool operates under Amazon’s SP-API framework, meaning Amazon sets the rules for what data can be accessed, how it can be stored, and — critically — what tool providers must agree to in order to maintain access.
Sources familiar with Amazon’s SP-API developer terms say the agreements have grown significantly more expansive in recent revisions, with new clauses around data aggregation, retention, and “marketplace improvement” use cases that some developers interpret as giving Amazon broader latitude to request data than the original terms implied.
- Amazon’s SP-API now serves over 15,000 registered developer applications as of Q1 2026
- The “marketplace improvement” data clause, introduced in the 2024 terms update, has drawn particular scrutiny from seller advocacy groups
- At least one seller advocacy organization, the Amazon Sellers Association, is reportedly preparing a formal inquiry to Amazon’s developer relations team
- The Coalition for Third-Party Sellers has not yet commented publicly on the Helium 10 situation
What should sellers do right now while this plays out?
Practical steps are already circulating in seller communities. Several experienced operators are recommending a tiered approach: continue using existing tools for active campaigns, but segment the most sensitive new-product research to manual methods or less-integrated tools that operate outside the SP-API framework.
Others are watching to see whether Helium 10 issues a formal denial or transparency statement. A credible denial — one that includes specifics about what data is and is not shared with Amazon under the company’s SP-API agreement — could defuse the situation quickly. The absence of such a statement by end of June, multiple sources suggested, will be treated as confirmation by a meaningful segment of the power seller community.
For now, the alleged arrangement remains unconfirmed. But in a marketplace where information asymmetry is quite literally the difference between a profitable launch and a failed one, the rumor alone is already changing seller behavior — which may be the most consequential part of the story regardless of how the underlying facts ultimately resolve.
Ecommerce Times has reached out to Helium 10, Amazon, and representatives for Manny Coats, Guillermo Puyol, Brandon Young, and Kevin King. This story will be updated as responses are received.
