Google is replacing the lock icon in Chrome’s address bar. According to the company, “Browsers have shown a padlock icon when a website is loaded over HTTPS since the first versions of Netscape in the 1990s.”
Currently, over 95% of page loads in Chrome (for Windows) occur using HTTPS. Precisely because of this widespread adoption, Google wants to re-evaluate protocol signaling in the browser, not least because many users associate the padlock with the security of the site, which is a misconception.
Even phishing sites use HTTPS and therefore display the padlock. Therefore, the icon that will start to be used by the platform is the “tune in”, with the intention of being a more neutral symbol.
For the company, the new icon has the following main attributes: it does not necessarily imply “reliable”; it’s more obviously clickable; it is commonly associated with settings or other controls. The last benefit makes permission controls and additional security information more accessible. Previously, research showed that users did not understand how clicking the lock icon brought up these controls. the browser will keep marking HTTP as insecure in the address bar.
Google will release the new icon with Chrome 117 in early September 2023 as part of the broader Material You redesign. That update also comes to Android, but the iOS app will remove the lock icon entirely, as it’s not a touchable button today.
The novelty is now available on Chrome Canary. Interested parties can activate Chrome Refresh 2023 at chrome://flags#chrome-refresh-2023.
