Google to Penalize Back Button Hijacking in 2026

Google announced a new policy on Thursday to combat back button hijacking, a deceptive web practice that disrupts users' ability to navigate browsers normally. Starting June 15, 2026, websites engaging in the tactic will face penalties, including demotions in search rankings, as the company classifies it as an explicit violation of its spam policies.

Back button hijacking occurs when a website manipulates a browser's history to prevent users from returning to the previous page upon clicking the back button. Instead of navigating as expected, visitors may be redirected to unrelated content, bombarded with unsolicited advertisements, or trapped in a loop of unintended pages. This behavior, often implemented through JavaScript or third-party scripts, has become more prevalent across the web, according to Google.

The policy update, detailed in a post on the Google Developers blog, places back button hijacking under the malicious practices category of Google's spam guidelines. Such practices create a mismatch between user expectations and actual outcomes, leading to frustration and eroded trust. "Back button hijacking interferes with the browser's functionality, breaks the expected...