Google Chrome will change the padlock in the browser bar because no one knows what it does anymore
The padlock icon indicating website security is a common sight in browser address bars. And because we're so used to it that we rarely check, Google plans to remove it from Chrome later this year.
On Tuesday, it was announced that the lock will be replaced by a new “settings” icon with the release of Chrome 117 in September. It’s part of a broader redesign of the browser based on Material You.
What did the lock icon in Google Chrome do?
The reasons for the update go beyond simply "beautifying" Chrome. Google states that only 11% of participants understood the purpose of the padlock icon. In the 90s, following the introduction of HTTPS by Netscape—a protocol that allows users to securely send sensitive data, such as banking information and login credentials, over the web using encryption—this padlock icon appeared. Thus, the padlock icon appeared when browsing a website that used HTTPS to indicate that the network connection was secure.
This was useful when HTTPS was uncommon and people needed to be better informed about its benefits. Today, more than 95 percent of Chrome web pages loaded on Windows use the protocol. Google believes users may mistakenly think the padlock logo is a general indication of trust or reliability, which is a problem because HTTPS doesn't protect against things like phishing scams.
To avoid this, the padlock will be replaced with a variant of the settings icon typically used to represent control menus. This symbol doesn't misleadingly proclaim " this is a trusted website " and has the added benefit of encouraging users to click and access more information about their security and connection settings. Aside from that, it will have no additional function and will continue to mark plaintext HTTP links as insecure on all platforms.
