Google is reportedly planning to make a significant change to its Chrome browser.
The tech giant has been working on an option that will block “insecure” downloads through HTTP, according to 9to5Google.
HTTP web addresses are widely considered to be less secure than HTTPS, which is used more broadly in 2022.
But Google has already decided to take action on the issue, after previously alerting people when they’re on an insecure HTTP website.
The proposed change has been unearthed amid some special code.
It reads: “Enables insecure download blocking. This shows a ‘blocked’ message if the user attempts to download a file over an insecure transport (e.g. HTTP) either directly or via an insecure redirect.”
It’s been suggested that the new feature will be introduced in 2023.
Meanwhile, earlier this year, a group of Congress members in the US asked Google to stop collecting “unnecessary” data.
More than 40 Democratic members of Congress expressed fears that location data could be used against people who have obtained abortions.
A letter sent to Google CEO Sundar Pichai read: “We believe that abortion is health care. We will fight tooth and nail to ensure that it remains recognized as a fundamental right, and that all people in the United States have control over their own bodies. That said, we are concerned that, in a world in which abortion could be made illegal, Google’s current practice of collecting and retaining extensive records of cell phone location data will allow it to become a tool for far-right extremists looking to crack down on people seeking reproductive health care. (sic)”