3 outlets·3 reports
Google classifies back button hijacking as spam, enforcement starts June 2026
ThinkingNews Desk · how this was written
Google has classified “back button hijacking”—the practice of interfering with a browser’s back-button function—as malicious spam. Beginning in June 2026, the company will demote or otherwise punish sites that employ this technique in its search results. The enforcement applies to any site that manipulates the back-button behavior.
Written from all 3 reports below, not from any single one.
How it was reported
- TechMeme·Google designates "back button hijacking" as malicious, saying sites interfering with a browser's back button function may be demoted in Search starting in June (Abner Li/9to5Google)
- Ars Technica·Google will begin punishing sites for back button hijacking in June
- The Next Web·Google classifies back button hijacking as spam, enforcement starts June 2026
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