Google Chrome Will Soon Block Unexpected Website Redirects

We’ve all encountered websites that redirect us someplace else unexpectedly. It’s a tactic many websites use to funnel traffic to unintended destinations. Google wants to prevent that from happening. As part of its ongoing efforts to expand user protections on the web, Google has announced new tweaks for Chrome which will block unexpected website redirects as well as annoying pop-ups.

Google mentions that 1 out of every 5 feedback report from Chrome users mentions an encounter with some type of unwanted content. It has committed to rolling out three new protections in the next few releases to block these unwanted behaviors.

The unnecessary redirects normally come from third-party content embedded in the webpage even if the page author might not have intended to redirect traffic. In Chrome 64, Google will block webpages from redirecting users to another page on their own. It will display an infobar instead which will inform users that a redirect was attempted.

Another pain point with users is when they click on a new link to open a new tab. Often, the original page then navigates to another unintended webpage. Google sees this as circumvention of its pop-up block so it’s going to block these unwanted redirections in the main tab with Chrome 65.

Google is also clamping down on links to third-party websites that are disguised as play buttons, transparent overlays on websites that capture all clicks, and more.

Chrome 64 is going to be released early next year as it’s currently in pre-beta testing. The company has previously confirmed that this release of Chrome is also going to block autoplaying videos that have sound.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Web
Tags: Google, google chrome