Google Chrome Material Icon 450x450Google this week revealed some upcoming enhancements to its Chrome browser that aim to protect users from encountering unwanted content on the web, such as when a site unexpectedly redirects them to another page when they click on a video play button.

Google says that incidents of users being redirected by websites to unintended destinations are mentioned in 1 of every 5 Chrome feedback reports it receives, and it's now intent on putting a stop to the "abusive" behavior.

One piece of feedback we regularly hear from users is that a page will unexpectedly navigate to a new page, for seemingly no reason. We've found that this redirect often comes from third-party content embedded in the page, and the page author didn't intend the redirect to happen at all. To address this, in Chrome 64 all redirects originating from third-party iframes will show an infobar instead of redirecting, unless the user had been interacting with that frame. This will keep the user on the page they were reading, and prevent those surprising redirects.

Another example that Google says causes user frustration is when clicking a link opens the desired destination in a new tab, but the main window navigates to a different, unwanted page. The behavior is designed to circumvent pop-up blockers, but Google is planning a clampdown.

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Staring in Chrome 65, the browser will detect this abusive behavior, trigger an infobar, and prevent the main tab from being redirected, allowing the user to continue on to their intended destination.

Lastly, starting in early January, Chrome's pop-up blocker will attempt put a stop to several other types of abusive experiences that are harder to detect, such as links to third-party websites disguised as play buttons or other site controls, or transparent overlays on websites that capture all clicks and open new tabs or windows.

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To help site owners prepare for the changes, Google is launching the Abusive Experiences Report alongside other similar reports in the Google Search Console. These can be used by owners to see to see if any of the abusive experiences have been found on their site and help them improve their user experience.

Tags: Google, Chrome

Top Rated Comments

TheloniousMac Avatar
70 months ago
This will greatly improve your porn experience.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thisisnotmyname Avatar
70 months ago
Good. Now please allow us to block ALL autoplay like Safari does. That has been absolutely wonderful.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
newyorksole Avatar
70 months ago
This will greatly improve your porn experience.
Lmao literally came in to say the same. It’s so true tho.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
70 months ago
Am I the only one who loves Pirate Bay's new technique for funding their website?

Instead of ads, they now run javascript on your device in the background which mines bitcoins for them. It seems perfectly fair to me - I'm on your website so I clearly get some value out of it, and you're getting some value out of me visiting. No obtrusive ads or pop ups to ruin my experience. No creepy tracking or anything.

People working on the website win. People visiting it win. Everyone wins.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69Mustang Avatar
70 months ago
This will greatly improve your porn experience.
You say greatly improve but how am I supposed to contact Molly who's only 2.3 miles away and looking to party? Asking for a friend.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AfzalivE Avatar
70 months ago
Am I the only one who loves Pirate Bay's new technique for funding their website?

Instead of ads, they now run javascript on your device in the background which mines bitcoins for them. It seems perfectly fair to me - I'm on your website so I clearly get some value out of it, and you're getting some value out of me visiting. No obtrusive ads or pop ups to ruin my experience. No creepy tracking or anything.

People working on the website win. People visiting it win. Everyone wins.
Yes, you're the only one because that stuff makes your computer pretty unusable while the website is open and Chrome is using up 400% of your CPU while your laptop is heating up and you can't open anything and eventually can't even move the mouse.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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