Google has made it categorically clear that starting January 2017, all HTTP pages on the Web will be labelled as “non-secure”. The move, as the company puts it, is a part of Google’s efforts to make users more aware about internet security.
One big impact from the move will be the marking of all websites that transmit passwords and credit card info so users may deem unsafe.
The existing versions of the Chrome browser only display a neutral icon, leaving the threat perception somewhat ambiguous for many users. Google says it hopes the move will help propagate the importance of switching to an all-HTTPS ecosystem.
“We recently hit a milestone with more than half of Chrome desktop page loads now served over HTTPS,” the search giant said in a blog post.
Next, the company will extend the “non-secure” warnings to the incognito mode as well.
“In following releases, we will continue to extend HTTP warnings, for example, by labelling HTTP pages as “not secure” in Incognito mode, where users may have higher expectations of privacy. Eventually, we plan to label all HTTP pages as non-secure, and change the HTTP security indicator to the red triangle that we use for broken HTTPS.”
Meanwhile, Google is also bringing Chrome 53 for Android devices. The new update adds a host of new features for users, including the PaymentRequest API, auto-playing muted video, Web Bluetooth API, and more.
The PaymentRequest API will make online transactions using credit cards or Android Play easier and more secure while auto-playing muted video will ensure that only those videos muted by default are auto-played when the user is browsing through a page.
The Web Bluetooth API will allow web apps and websites to communicate with users’ Bluetooth devices.