The popular Google browser is almost everywhere. However, most people worry they may compromise their safety unknowingly by visiting some dangerous sites. The consequences can be costly. But soon, they can rest easy as Google Chrome is reportedly adding a powerful feature that will make browsing the web a lot safer for users. Google Chrome is one of the most widely used browsers on the web today, commanding nearly 69 percent of the global desktop browser market share as of May 2021. The browser is also extremely popular on mobile devices, with over 63 percent of mobile users using the browser during the same time period, according to StatCounter.
An upcoming version of Google Chrome will soon add support for an HTTPs only mode, which will automatically upgrade any website you visit to a more secure version, also known as Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) mode, as 9to5Google reports. A similar feature also exists in the popular open-source browser Mozilla Firefox, which also allows users to secure their browsing using an HTTPS-only mode.
HTTPS-only mode in Google Chrome
HTTPS-only mode is a feature that upgrades all your connections while browsing the web, ensuring all the links that you visit are secure — as opposed to HTTP mode with is considered insecure. When you visit a website that has supports HTTPS, you will see a lock in the address bar. However, not all sites provide the secure version by default, so the new HTTPS-only mode will make sure that this happens at all times while you are browsing.
Enable HTTPS-only mode
While you are browsing the web, Chrome will load only the secure version of websites. If you navigate to a website that does not support HTTPS (these are very rare) the browser will show you a warning page, before allowing you to browse in HTTPS mode. If you allow a site to bypass HTTPS-only mode, Chrome will remember your decision the next time you visit the same site, according to the report.
HTTPS-only mode likely to launch
HTTPS-only mode is currently being tested by Google in the form of a hidden toggle, so it doesn’t seem likely that it will arrive next month. According to the report, it is likely to arrive with Google Chrome 93 or 94 – which will probably arrive in version 93 or 94, which could arrive by September.
Enable HTTPS-only mode in Chrome
If you are using Chrome, you can visit chrome://flags and paste the term #https-only-mode-setting in the search area. After toggling the setting to on, you can go to Chrome Settings > Security > Advanced. Then you can turn on the Always use secure connections” toggle to use the feature right away.
