Google Search tackles sites that try to stop you from leaving when you hit the back button
TL;DR
Websites that act like a super-chatty colleague who just won't shut up and let you go when a conversation should be over are among the most annoying things on the internet. Google is now doing something about that scourge. Picture the scene: you look up something on Google Search and — instead of relying on potentially hallucinating AI Overviews — you click through to an actual website for your information. But, when you try to leave the site by hitting the back button, your browser doesn’t immediately take you back to the previous webpage. Instead, the website first displays an "oh, while you're here..." page that suggests other content in which you may be interested in checking out or just a bunch of ads. This shady move that some traffic-hungry websites have adopted is called "back button hijacking." No one in their right mind likes it, and nor does Google. Under a new policy that 9to.
Nauti's Take
A clear win for users: less manipulation, cleaner search results. The catch is Google's reach only goes so far – sites not reliant on organic traffic won't feel it.
For anyone depending on Google Search, treating clean UX as non-negotiable is now a survival move.
Summary
Websites that act like a super-chatty colleague who just won't shut up and let you go when a conversation should be over are among the most annoying things on the internet. Google is now doing something about that scourge.
Picture the scene: you look up something on Google Search and — instead of relying on potentially hallucinating AI Overviews — you click through to an actual website for your information. But, when you try to leave the site by hitting the back button, your browser doesn’t immediately take you back to the previous webpage.
Instead, the website first displays an "oh, while you're here... " page that suggests other content in which you may be interested in checking out or just a bunch of ads.
This shady move that some traffic-hungry websites have adopted is called "back button hijacking. " No one in their right mind likes it, and nor does Google.
Under a new policy that 9to
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