I doubt this issue has anything to do with the 8.1.4.0 update, nor with any update at all. But I noticed it immediately after installing the 8.1.4.0 update.
Immediately after the update, I was getting FindMyPast WebHints. I never use them. I checked and they were not turned on. I managed to get rid of them by turning them on and then back off. In case it matters, I have never once had FindMyPast WebHints turned on in RM8 except just now briefly as a part of getting them turned off.
Immediately after the update, I was not getting MyHeritage WebHints. I know they were working in RM7 and I know that they were turned on in RM8, but I wasn’t getting them in RM8. I managed to start getting them in RM8 by turning then off and back on. In case it matters, I have never had any trouble MyHeritage WebHints working in RM8 in the whole year I have been testing with RM8.
Further information in case it matters is that immediately after installing the 8.1.4.0 update, I deleted my RM8 database, re-imported it from RM7, and I ran the merge duplicate sources and duplicate citations processes. The incorrect WebHint behavior was immediately after that and before doing anything else.
My WebHints in RM8 are now fully functional and working as designed. But getting WebHints when they are off and not getting WebHints when they are on is disconcerting.
This isn’t new with 8.1.4.0. I’ve observed this many times in the past, always immediately after I re-import my RM7 data after upgrading RM8 to a new level (without doing anything other than the import).
I have Family Search webhints enabled but the other webhints sites disabled at the top level but with some of the lower level options still enabled (I think by default), and it is these lower level settings that seem to take effect even if the top level is disabled. The unrequested webhints do go away if you close and re-open the new file (and maybe in other circumstances). It is very obvious in my case as webhints appear for myself, a living person, from one of the other sites.
I went through a phase where I kept getting My Heritage web hints, even though they weren’t turned on. As I remember, this was during the Community Preview.
Hasn’t happened for awhile though
I’ve done some more experimentation, and it seems that there is no way of stopping this happening when importing an RM7 file - if there is any webhint option enabled - just Family Search in my case - then this seems to happen. If you turn off all webhints, then it doesn’t. It would seem that the logic as to which webhints to solicit is incorrect when initially importing an RM7 file.
I’ve updated my problem report to reflect the fact that the minor webhint options have no influence on this behaviour.