TL; DR
- Chrome 94 offers an HTTPS-First mode that requires secure pages from every website.
- Chrome 93 will remove the potentially misleading lock icon as part of a test.
- Google will also consider restricting web functionality to unsafe sites.
Google is determined to promote safe browsing on Chrome and will soon give you a way to enforce that security. The company has outlined plans for an “HTTPS-First Mode” in Chrome M94, which, as the name suggests, requires HTTPS connections to websites.
Enable optional mode and Chrome will try to update every page load to HTTPS instead of using the best connection available. If you have to settle for insecure HTTP, you will receive a full screen warning before making this connection. This could even become the standard for “ecosystem feedback,” Google said.
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The company also wants Chrome to have a better feel for how HTTPS works. The M93 version tries to replace the lock icon with a more “neutral” drop-down button (below) that you can use to review the page information. Most people mistakenly interpreted the lock as an indication that the website is secure, and not just the connection, according to Google. This should remove “confusion” and help people discover privacy and security data that they would otherwise have ignored. Google views this as an experiment, so don’t expect the lock to go away forever.
Google can take further steps to encourage the adoption of HTTPS in Chrome in the future. The technology company is considering restricting a “wide range” of web functions to insecure connections, including storing content and disabling security policies. You may also get more information if you decide to trust an unsafe website.
You’ll have to wait a while for the HTTPS upgrade to show up in Chrome on your devices. The stable release of M93 isn’t due until August 31, and M94 should arrive about six weeks later. However, this can prove reassuring if you insist on a basic level of security while browsing the internet.