Google will lower the rankings of sites that hijack the “Back” button.

Google announced a new policy regarding the “Back button redirect”

*A site that prevents users from returning to the previous page when clicking the browser’s “Back” button will be considered a violator of anti‑undesirable content rules. In the near future, such sites will start dropping in Google search results.* – reports 9to5Google.

What is a “Back button redirect”?

When a user clicks the browser button, the site redirects them to another page (often one not previously visited), shows ads, or simply interferes with normal viewing. This is considered an intrusion into the usual navigation flow.

Why does Google view this as a violation?

Google classifies such manipulations as part of its policy against “malicious practices.”

* Breach of expectations: the user expects to return to the previous page but receives different content.
* Poor UX / security: these actions degrade user experience and may jeopardize privacy.

Who can cause the problem?

Not just the site’s own scripts.

* Connected advertising networks
* External libraries

Google advises site owners to review all code that might interfere with browser navigation and disable it.

What will happen to violating sites?

1. Manual action – Google will manually review the page.
2. Automatic demotion – if the violation is confirmed, the site’s ranking will drop automatically.

Owners have two weeks (until June 15 2026) to fix the errors. After that, the new rules will take effect and apply to all sites using such techniques.