Google targets sneaky redirect ads triggered by back button

New Delhi: Google has officially announced its latest spam policy, by aiming to prevent the practice known as back button hijacking, by stating that websites that engage in it could face penalties in the Search rankings.

Google stated that the move is aimed at improving user experience, as the practice interferes with the normal browser navigation. This updated policy will come into effect on June 15, 2026, by offering site owners time to review and fix their implementations.

Back Button hijacking also occurs when the website interferes with the user’s ability to return to the previous page using the browser back button. Rather than going back as expected, the users might be redirected to pages they are never going to visit, shown in unsolicited content or ads, or blocked from tjhe navigating away normally.

This breaks the fundamental user expectation and disrupts the standard browsing experience, which often leads to confusion and frustration.

It is expanding its spam policies to explicitly classify back button hijacking as a violation under its malicious practices category. Google added that such behavior also creates a mismatch between what the users expect and what actually happens, resulting in a deceptive experience.

It has seen a rise in such practices and reiterated that inserting manipulative pages into the user’s browser history has already been against its Search guidelines. Under the upgraded policy, affected pages might face manual spam actions or automated ranking demotions in Google Search results.

The company has advised site owners to ensure their websites do not interfere with the normal browser navigation. This also includes removing or turning off any scripts or techniques that also insert or replace misleading pages in the user’s browsing history.

Google has also pointed out that such a type of behavior might sometimes originate from third-party libraries or advertising tools, by urging site owners to review their technical setups carefully. If the site is penalized and the issues are fixed, owners can submit a reconsideration request via Google Search Console.