The back button on your browser is supposed to be an exit ramp, but some sites are abusing a tactic to trap users on their domains and manipulate traffic, according to Google. The tactic is called ...

PCWorld reports that Google will penalize websites that hijack the browser’s back button, a manipulative practice that redirects users to unwanted pages or ads. This new spam policy violation, ...

Now do hyperlink abuse. I regularly go to a site that uses hyperlinks that look like they'd go to other source material but in fact just go right back to the same site, either the same article or one ...

Google is putting its foot down on "back button hijacking," an infamous deceptive practice where users are kept on a long loop of pressing the back button but are either not brought anywhere or ...

Google has made some controversial decisions related to its flagship search engine in recent years, but this one will probably be pretty popular. The company announced in a developer note (via ...

Tyler is a writer for CNET covering laptops and video games. He's previously covered mobile devices, home energy products and broadband. He came to CNET straight out of college, where he graduated ...

Back button hijacking, a practice that interferes with normal web browser back button functioning, is now against Google Search’s guidelines. Sites that engage in back button hijacking will be subject ...

Google says it is expanding its policies to crack down on websites which trap users with "back button hijacking". Back button hijacking is when a website interferes with a browser so the back button ...

Google is expanding its spam enforcement policies to crack down on a deceptive web practice known as back button hijacking. The update focuses on websites that interfere with a user’s attempt to ...

You have until June 15, 2026 to remove the back button code before Google begins to take action.