Internet giant Google has announced plans to replace the HTTPS lock icon long associated with the trustworthiness of a website in the Chrome address bar with a more neutral clickable indicator that will provide users with settings and controls.
“The lock icon is meant to indicate that the network connection is a secure channel between the browser and site and that the network connection cannot be tampered with or eavesdropped on by third parties, but it’s a remnant of an era where HTTPS was uncommon. When HTTPS was rare, the lock icon drew attention to the additional protections provided by HTTPS. Today, this is no longer true, and HTTPS is the norm, not the exception, and we've been evolving Chrome accordingly,” Google explained in a blog post.
According to Google's 2021 research, many users believe that the lock icon means that a website is secure and can be trusted. It’s may not be the case, given that many phishing sites use HTTPS. In the study, only 11% of participants correctly understood what the lock icon means.
The lock icon will be replaced by a variant of a tune icon, which, the company believes, will help make permission controls and additional security information more accessible. At the same time, Chrome will continue to warn users when their connection is not secure.
The new icon is scheduled to launch in Chrome 117 set for release in September 2023 as part of a general design refresh for desktop platforms. The same redesigned indicator will also be available in Android. However, on iOS the lock will be fully removed, as the icon isn’t tappable on this platform.
