What you need to know
- Google is cracking down on “back button hijacking,” a trick that traps users on sketchy websites.
- Google now labels this behavior as malicious and is treating it as a serious violation.
- Starting June 15, offending sites risk manual penalties or major drops in search rankings.
Google is cracking down on a shady web trick that’s been ruining your browsing experience. And if you’ve ever felt stuck while using the back button, this is likely the reason.
Google is making changes to Search’s spam policies to stop “back button hijacking,” a trick some websites use to keep you stuck on their pages. In a recent blog post, Google explained that some sites change your browser history so that pressing the back button takes you somewhere you didn’t expect.
You might have run into this before: you click a link from Google, realize the page isn’t helpful, and hit the back button, but you can’t leave. Sometimes you get sent to a sketchy ad or you have to hit ‘back’ over and over to get out. Google is finally treating it as a serious problem.
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Beginning June 15, any site found ‘hijacking’ your navigation will face serious consequences, such as a manual spam action or a big drop in search rankings.
Google has noticed more sites using scripts to change your browser history. These sites use JavaScript to add fake entries to your history or replace the current one. When you press back, it looks like you’re moving through different pages, but you’re really just being sent around the same site or to unwanted ‘recommendations.’
Malicious status is official
Google now officially calls this a ‘malicious practice’ because it tricks you by making the site do something different from what you expect.
For most users, this is a big improvement. You’ll have a smoother, more reliable browsing experience where the ‘back’ button works as it should.
If you run a website or handle SEO, you have two months to fix any issues. Google made it clear that even if you didn’t mean to use these tricks, you’re still responsible.
These hijacking scripts are often hidden in third-party ads or code libraries that site owners add without realizing. Be sure to check your site’s code before the mid-June deadline, or you could lose your traffic very quickly.
This policy starts on June 15, so trap sites won’t disappear right away. But once it begins, Google’s automated systems and reviewers will start removing these sites from search results.
Android Central’s Take
Frankly, I think it’s about time Google put the hammer down on this garbage. Few things are more frustrating than being stuck on a website that keeps pushing ‘related content’ instead of letting you leave. We’ve put up with these tricks for years, but really, it’s just a desperate attempt to get more ad views at the cost of our patience.
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