- By Vikas Yadav
- Wed, 03 May 2023 04:52 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
GOOGLE Chrome is undoubtedly one of the most popular browsers in India. However, a change is on the way that might disappoint some of its users. Chrome's address bar will now get a new "tune" icon instead of the vintage lock icon. The Chromium blog states that browsers have shown a lock icon to display the security status of a webpage since the versions of Netscape in the 1990s.
More than 95 per cent of the web pages that load on Chrome are secured today via HTTPS channel. However, in the past, the protocol was so rear that Internet Explorer prompted a user if the connection was secure. However, as we stepped into the future, the security and risk associated with the website evolved.
Lock icon is not a sign of safety
Google, in the blog, states that the icon is no longer a hallmark of "trustworthiness," and only 11 per cent of participants who participated in Google's research knew the "precise meaning" of the icon.
Problem statement
In today's time, almost all phishing sites operate under HTTPS protocol. "Misunderstandings are so pervasive that many organizations, including the FBI, publish explicit guidance that the lock icon is not an indicator of website safety," Google states.
Google first shared the intention to experiment and replace the padlock icon in 2021 with a "security neutral entry point" and marked HTTP sites as insecure. During the experiment, site controls were accessed more often. And users did not express "any confusion" after the UI update.
Lock icon's replacement - the tune icon no longer implies trustworthiness, is more clickable and associated with "settings or other controls," the announcement adds. It will help curb the misunderstandings that "plague" the existing icon.
Meanwhile, the browser will continue to alert customers of unsecure connections on the web.
When will the padlock retire?
The tune icon is scheduled for a debut in Chrome 117 in September this year on desktop platforms. On the Android browser, the rollout will happen at the same time as the desktop. On iPhone, the icon will disappear completely. For Canary users, after enabling "Chrome Refresh 2023 at chrome://flags#chrome-refresh-2023."