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Avast will no longer sell users' browser histories to third-party companies, the antivirus vendor said, following a PCMag-Motherboard investigation into the privacy risks around the data collection.

Late on Wednesday, Avast CEO Ondrej Vlcek announced his company plans to shut down operations at Jumpshot, the subsidiary in charge of selling the browser history data. "As CEO of Avast, I feel personally responsible and I would like to apologize to all concerned," he said in a statement.

The popular antivirus vendor previously claimed it could "de-identify" people's personal data from the browser history collection, thus preserving the user's privacy. However, the investigation from PCMag and Motherboard found the contrary: the data that Jumpshot was selling to big brands and market research companies could be analyzed to easily link the website clicks to a specific Avast user, exposing a person's internet activities.

The news has shaken consumer trust in the antivirus vendor, which serves 435 million users across the globe. Vlcek said he concluded the data harvesting "was not in line" with the company's privacy priorities.

"Protecting people is Avast's top priority and must be embedded in everything we do in our business and in our products. Anything to the contrary is unacceptable," he said. "For these reasons, I—together with our board of directors—have decided to terminate the Jumpshot data collection and wind down Jumpshot's operations, with immediate effect."

Jumpshot's shutdown will affect hundreds of employees at the company subsidiary, but Vlcek said the termination of the data harvesting is "absolutely the right thing to do."

"I firmly believe it will help Avast focus on and unlock its full potential to deliver on its promise of security and privacy. And I especially thank our users, whose recent feedback accelerated our decision to take quick action," he added.