Google is working on an HTTPS-only mode for Chrome

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Following in the footsteps of browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome is also lined up to receive an HTTPS-only mode that will update all unencrypted HTTP connections to encrypted HTTPS alternatives wherever possible.

Currently, Chrome’s new HTTPS-only mode is still under development in Chrome Canary distributions.

Work is underway to add specific settings in the browser interface and there is currently no HTTP to HTTPS functionality.

While work on this new feature is being done in Chrome Canary 93, it’s unclear whether the new HTTPS Only mode will ship with the stable version of Chrome 93, scheduled for August this year.

Currently, Chrome 93 includes a new flag located in chrome: // flags / # https-only-mode-setting which, when enabled, adds a new option called “Always use secure connections” in the security settings of the Chrome browser.

Image: the record Image: the record

Chrome’s work on adding an HTTPS-only mode comes after Mozilla added a Firefox-like-named feature in v83.

Earlier this month, Microsoft also added a feature called Automatic HTTPS to its flagship Edge browser.

Currently, approximately 82.2% of all Internet sites support HTTPS connections. Browser makers like Chrome and Mozilla have previously reported that HTTPS traffic usually accounts for 90% to 95% of their daily user traffic.

In a report last month analyzing its implementation of its HTTP-only mode, Mozilla said that Firefox only upgraded HTTP traffic to HTTPS for 3.5% of web pages, as 92.8% were already loading via HTTPS connections.

Image: Mozilla

In previous years, Google has taken similar measures to promote the use of HTTPS technology, including:

making HTTPS the default protocol in its address / search bar [see announcementhere]automatic update of mixed contents from HTTP to HTTPS [see announcementhere]blocking HTTP downloads initiated from apparently secure HTTPS pages [see announcementhere]

Catalin Cimpanu is a cybersecurity journalist for The Record. He previously worked at ZDNet and Bleeping Computer, where he became a well-known name in the industry for his ongoing scoop on new vulnerabilities, cyber attacks, and law enforcement actions against hackers.

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