Chrome 85: Google will hide URLs in address bar

Google has tried several times to hide the URL of web pages in Chrome’s address bar. Despite backing down more than once, the firm has never concealed its intention to return. This decision was never welcomed by users, especially within the developer community. Despite this reluctance, Google seems determined to implement its initial plan.

Giant and Canary editions chrome 85 Introduce new options that allow you to trim urls in address bar. Concretely, the latter will soon show only the domain of visited websites. For example, Chrome will only show the domain phonandroid.com instead.

A change for the “users’ sake”.

The ability to see the full URL of a web page is essential for better identification. It only takes a glance to know where you stand, especially when you have several tabs open at the browser level. The HTTPS prefix also lets you know if a web page is secure. Still, Google’s decision to remove that mention stems from a desire for safer browsing for Internet users, just like www.

The firm defends its position by the fact that URLs that are too long facilitate phishing campaigns, the success of which largely depends on the inattention of Internet users. Easier for hackers to do pass fake addresses as legitimate URLs. Three new flags appear in Chrome 85 for this.

The first is titled Omnibox UI Steady State URL Path Hide Query and Ref. When enabled, this option hides most of the URLs of web pages just to protect the domain name. Two other named flags Omnibox UI Steady State URL Path Hide Query and Ref with Highlight and Omnibox UI Hide Steady State URL Path, Query, and Interaction Ref Display the full address as you hover over the address or interact with the page, respectively.

These options should be available in the stable version of Chrome 85, available by September if all goes well. Their activation will often remain optional with experimental features before being implemented in a future version of the browser.

Source : Android Police