April 13, 2026<\/p>\n
\n Today, we are expanding our spam policies<\/a> \n When a user clicks the “back” button in the browser, they have a clear expectation: they want to \n We believe that the user experience comes first. Back button hijacking interferes with the \n We’ve seen a rise of this type of behavior, which is why we’re designating this an explicit violation \n Malicious practices create a mismatch between user expectations and the actual outcome, \n Pages that are engaging in back button hijacking may be subject to \n Ensure you are not doing anything to interfere with a user’s ability to navigate their browser history.\n<\/p>\n \n If you’re currently using any script or technique that inserts or replaces deceptive or \n Notably, some instances of back button hijacking may originate from the site’s included libraries \n If your site has been impacted by a manual action and you have fixed the issue, you can always let
\n to address a deceptive practice known as “back button hijacking”, which will become an explicit
\n violation of the “malicious practices<\/a>”
\n of spam policies, leading to potential spam actions.\n<\/p>\nWhat is back button hijacking?<\/h2>\n
\n return to the previous page. Back button hijacking breaks this fundamental expectation. It occurs
\n when a site interferes with a user’s browser navigation and prevents them from using their back
\n button to immediately get back to the page they came from. Instead, users might be sent to pages
\n they never visited before, be presented with unsolicited recommendations or ads, or are otherwise
\n just prevented from normally browsing the web.\n<\/p>\nWhy are we taking action?<\/h2>\n
\n browser’s functionality, breaks the expected user journey, and results in user frustration. People
\n report feeling manipulated and eventually less willing to visit unfamiliar sites. As we’ve stated before<\/a>,
\n inserting deceptive or manipulative pages into a user’s browser history has always been against our
\n Google Search Essentials<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n
\n of our malicious practices<\/a>
\n policy, which says:\n<\/p>\n
\n leading to a negative and deceptive user experience, or compromised user security or privacy.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\n manual spam actions<\/a>
\n or automated demotions, which can impact the site’s performance in Google Search results. To give
\n site owners time to make any needed changes, we’re publishing this policy two months in advance of
\n enforcement on June 15, 2026.\n<\/p>\nWhat should site owners do?<\/h2>\n
\n manipulative pages into a user’s browser history that prevents them from using their back button
\n to immediately get back to the page they came from, you are expected to remove or disable it.\n<\/p>\n
\n or advertising platform. We encourage site owners to thoroughly review their technical
\n implementation and remove or disable any code, imports or any configurations that are responsible
\n for back button hijacking, to ensure a helpful and non-deceptive experience for users.\n<\/p>\n
\n us know by submitting a reconsideration request<\/a>
\n in Search Console. For questions or feedback, feel free to reach out on
\n social media<\/a> or discuss in
\n our help community<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n