Chrome will remove the lock icon for HTTPS pages

As part of the next redesign of Chrome, the browser will lose a popular visual that users often misinterpret: a padlock in the address bar of HTTPS pages.

Browsers have been displaying this icon since the days of Netscape in the 90s. Back then, HTTPS was a rarity, and it was important to highlight the benefits it provided for user security. But now about 95% of the pages that open in Chrome on Windows use HTTPS. With that in mind, it's time to change how the browser and users evaluate security.

What's more, a padlock icon can add credibility to a site that doesn't deserve it. Despite Google's efforts to explain that the icon only indicates compliance with the minimum data protection requirements, users usually do not delve into this. Poll 2021 showedthat only 11% understand what this icon is, and organizations like the FBI even had to release warnings that the padlock icon does not mean that the site is secure.

In the Chrome 117 update, which will be released in early September, the lock icon for HTTPS pages will be replaced with an icon in the form of two toggles. It does not imply trust in the site and is more often associated with settings, so it will be clearer to the user that they can click on it. HTTP sites will continue to be marked as insecure.