Chrome 86, which is expected to be released at the end of August, should only display the domain name instead of the full URL in the address bar.
Phishing scams are increasing, and the number of victims to such internet scams are rising day-by-day. And Google Chrome the most used browser in the world, and to safeguard users from these cyber scams, Google is experimenting with a new feature in the next version of Chrome.
By default, Google shows us the full URL of the website we are on. Highlight the domain in white, and the rest of the URL in dim gray. The new feature Chrome will show only the names of the domains in the address bar instead of the full URLs by default.
This new feature will only be tested on a series of random users to see if the change “helps users realize that they are visiting a malicious website and protects them from phishing and social engineering attacks.” — said the Chrome security team.
However, not all users automatically become test subjects. Who takes part in the experiment should be decided at random.
Selected users then have two options to have the URL information displayed in full — hovering the mouse pointer over it leads to the display of the full URL or a right-click on the URL offers the option of switching off the shortening function.
Chrome is not the first browser that wants to look tidier with such a feature. Safari has only shown the domain names for a long time. And Chrome, like Safari, already hides the protocol part of URLs such as http: // or https: //.
However, this feature may not reach Google Chrome. Whether it does it or not depends directly on whether users respond positively to the measure. If users do not notice substantial changes or if Google does not detect an improvement, the feature will be scrapped.
