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Google adds experimental setting to hide full URLs in Chrome 85 address bar

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Re: Google adds experimental setting to hide full URLs in Chrome 85 address bar

#221

Post by robert_g »

rkwasny wrote: post #151

Conspiracy theory: This change is dictated by the Google AMP team that wants to take over the world without us knowing

> Conspiracy theory: This change is dictated by the Google AMP team that wants to take over the world without us knowing

I was just about to write this but I don't necessarily think it's that far off.

With signed exchanges, AMP pages have the ability to hide the fact you're accessing content through Google [1]. In 2016 Google wrote about testing 'mobile-first indexing' because more people are using mobile devices than desktop browsers [2].

[1] https://developers.google.com/search/docs/guides/about-amp#a... [2] https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2016/11/mobile-first-index...

If Google can control the URL narrative (keeping users from bouncing off AMP pages) it's just one more ability for them to be MITM.

Re: Google adds experimental setting to hide full URLs in Chrome 85 address bar

#222

Post by chiefsucker »

nerdponx wrote: post #152
mrweasel wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I honestly don’t think people are paying attention to the URL bar, at least not the people this feature it trying to protect. If it looks like Google.com, then it Google.com. The logo even says so. It’s a dumbing down of the internet, in an attempt to help the average user, but it won’t work and you’re just making life harder for those who know just a bit more then average.

That's bullshit, it's not an attempt to help anybody but Google. What better way to keep people on AMP pages, than to make them so ignorant as to not even know how to tell the difference?

What the heck? A regular user doesn’t understand or care what the technical difference between a “regular” page and AMP is. I wouldn’t call this ignorance per se.

Re: Google adds experimental setting to hide full URLs in Chrome 85 address bar

#223

Post by butz »

mrweasel wrote: post #156
butz wrote: post #62

While this might be useful for a casual user, hidden URLs are a huge problem for web developers. Asking for a screenshot from client is not enough, now I'll have to provide additional instructions how to copy/paste full URL when reporting issues. Not to mention all possible problems with misconfigured servers when www and www-less domains lead to same website, but some script refuses to work on one of those. While it…

Google does have an amazing access to data on how 80 - 90% of users are using the Internet, for many Google is the entry point for their Internet experience. Maybe their data is telling them that the URL bar is basically unused?

That's probably because most advanced users turn off all telemetry when possible. And http://localhost is probably ignored in statistics anyway.

Re: Google adds experimental setting to hide full URLs in Chrome 85 address bar

#224

Post by fastball »

GoToRO wrote: post #86
curiousgal wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I switched to Firefox years ago and never looked back.

I never switched away from Firefox. I am old enough to know that nothing comes free, especially from a Big Corporation. As customers, all we can do is to always keep a good alternative alive, no matter what.

Firefox isn't free either. It's just paid for by Google.

Re: Google adds experimental setting to hide full URLs in Chrome 85 address bar

#225

Post by ubercow13 »

gsich wrote: post #186
scandox wrote: post #149

I'm against this. But: it's 2020 and still a huge number of people I deal with every day type the name of our product into their search bar and then login at the first site returned. Most don't know the difference between a browser and a specific website. It's all just a big Smush to them apparently.

It's $current_year is never a good excuse. $people not knowing stuff should not mean that everyone should get dumber to match $people.

URLs are confusing though. I am a veteran URL user and I learned something about them from this thread. Hiding them isn't necessarily better but many replies here seem to be denying that they are imperfect.

Re: Google adds experimental setting to hide full URLs in Chrome 85 address bar

#226

Post by lucasverra »

cletus wrote: post #94

Another phrase I live by: "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions." There will be some VP of Product or Engineering buried deep in the bureaucracy who is pushing this, deciding with no evidence (or, worse, lots of evidence to the contrary; believe me this happens) that it is the "users who are wrong" [1]. It now takes something like 4 taps to get to the point where I can correct or otherwise edit the URL in m…

FF + Edgium is nice combo, your choose your point of equilibrium

Re: Google adds experimental setting to hide full URLs in Chrome 85 address bar

#227

Post by fastball »

CyanBird wrote: post #202
toyg wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s too close for comfort to the Windows/Linux comparison. This said, I honestly don’t understand what people mean when they say the experience is “superior” in Chrome. It’s a web browser. It browses. You get passwords saved and synchronised. Everything else is an extension. What’s so bad about FF...?

I would love to get comments from Chrome users I just could not live without firefox and being unable to share tabs/links from anywhere in my phone to my desktop and or laptop

You can do that with Chrome if you are signed in.

Re: Google adds experimental setting to hide full URLs in Chrome 85 address bar

#228

Post by ptx »

0xy wrote: post #101

I disagree with the decision strongly, but I'm a developer and probably a "power user". A casual user might not even know what a URL is. Do you know there's a staggering amount of users who type "google.com" into Google?

A large part of the reason for this confusion might be Google's long-standing efforts to blur the line between search and plain URL-based navigation, starting with integrating search into the location field in Chrome – Firefox and Safari[1] used to separate them, which makes the concepts clearer and avoids sending URLs and (local history) searches to the search provider unintentionally.

[1] http://toastytech.com/guis/osx14safari2.png

Re: Google adds experimental setting to hide full URLs in Chrome 85 address bar

#229

Post by dilandau »

cletus wrote: post #185
ben_w wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Insightful, but I am confused by the final paragraph: > I'm tired of this anti-Web and anti-accessibility SJW nonsense “SJW” must have a meaning I’m not familiar with, because Social Justice Warriors would be pro-accessibility, not anti.

"SJW" is a pejorative at this point because the key part isn't about the ideas being expressed but the motivations behind advocating those views. It implies that despite outward appearances it's all rather self-serving, a form of getting validation and superficial virtue signaling. So when you see major rewrites, major redesigns and controversial changes in popular products you'll often find an agenda behind it. Some…

I've taken a forgive them for they know not what they do approach, but I think a power/reputation-grab explanation better fits the facts from my experience.

In other words, let the weeds grow with the wheat, and when it's time for harvest toss out all the weeds? Maybe. But if those weeds are going to make the whole place toxic better get rid of them asap.

Re: Google adds experimental setting to hide full URLs in Chrome 85 address bar

#230

Post by jorisw »

dkdk8283 wrote: post #153
pojntfx wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm tired of this anti-Web and anti-accessibility SJW nonsense to the point that yeah Wtf is wrong with you people it's no longer 2016

It’s a common belief that SJW motivations are extremely toxic and unproductive.

> It’s a common belief

_citation needed_

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