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No More Http In Google Chrome

Many Internet users load websites by entering the prefix http:// and the url of the domain in the address bar of the web browser. This is a standard that has been there since the invention of the World Wide Web. But http is in fact not needed to load websites. Removing it from the query will load the website just as fine. It reduces the time it takes to open a website as well.

The developers of Chromium, the open source browser project that builds the core of the Google Chrome web browser, have started removing http:// from the address bar of the web browser.

Even if users enter an url with http:// it will not be carried over and removed instead from the browser’s address bar.

google chrome without http

The http:// is hidden from the user’s view. Users who copy and paste an url will notice that it will be added to the url automatically.

All other prefixes like https or ftp remain untouched and are still displayed in the browser’s address bar. This is especially important for https connections which give the user a heightened sense of security.

A globe icon is displayed next to the url now that visualizes the http:// prefix now.

The change is problematic from a usability standpoint especially since all other web browsers on the market display http:// normally.

Another issue that came up is that it is now not possible to only copy the hostname (e.g. www.example.com) as the http:// will always be added to the string when copied.

The change is only implemented in the latest developer builds of Google Chrome. The devs have however stated that they won’t revert the changes which means it is likely to hit the beta and release builds of the browser in the near future. What’s your take on the change?

Related Articles:

Mozilla Drops Http Prefix In Firefox
Google Chrome Adds Greasemonkey Support
Google Browser: Google Chrome And Chromium Download
Google Chrome Builds For Mac And Linux Appear
Google Chrome Fullscreen Address Bar

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About the Author:Martin Brinkmann is a journalist from Germany who founded Ghacks Technology News Back in 2005. He is passionate about all things tech and knows the Internet and computers like the back of his hand. You can follow Martin on Facebook or Twitter.

Author: , Tuesday April 20, 2010 -
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Responses so far:

  1. zproxy says:

    This should be an optional feature.

  2. coffeemug says:

    The current lack of http:// does not have any much difference to the overall browsing experience.

    However, shitstorms are raging over the other changes in the Dev channel.

  3. bill says:

    They are slowly ruining an exceptionally good project… makes me a little sad, but I switched to SRWare Iron anyway, so I’m still okay.

  4. Bob Smith says:

    What about chromeplus ?

  5. Big Dan says:

    I don’t see the issue for regular folks they don’t pay attention anyway. For tech savvy folks like myself I haven’t typed http:// in years, for the most part I omit the www. too. just domain ctrl + enter. ;)

  6. TheGuy says:

    So stupid. Why disobey to standards.

  7. Bob says:

    I really don’t like it, and have no idea how to revert it. Especially every time I use ‘https’, I have to type whole ‘https://’ than just add an ‘s’ after the “http” like before.

  8. Frank says:

    Ridiculous.
    how am i suppose to go to an address with port?

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