Google’s controversial Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC) experiment now has a feature flag within Chrome Canary (the nightly build of Chrome for developers) that allows users to opt out. In January 2020, Google announced its plans to discontinue support for third-party cookies in Chrome within two years. The first bits and pieces of the company’s Privacy Sandbox initiative started landing …
Joomla Blocks FLoC by Default, Drupal Moves to Block FLoC in Upcoming 9.2 Release
Joomla has announced plans to block Google’s Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC) by default going forward. The 3.9.2.7 security update, released yesterday, added a Permissions Policy header to disable FLoC. Users can now find a new setting in Global configuration on the Site tab in the Site Settings area, where they can toggle FLoC on if desired. This change will …
Google Aims to “Revitalize RSS” and Recapture Users’ Trust with Experimental Follow Button in Chrome
The internet was set abuzz yesterday after Google officially confirmed that it has been testing a Follow button for websites in Chrome. In February, the publishers of Chrome Story spotted the button on Canary for Android, and speculated that it may be integrated with Google’s Discover feature. Chrome announced that it is building on RSS to allow users to follow …
Chrome 90 to Use HTTPS by Default in the Address Bar
Chrome’s upcoming version 90 will use https:// by default in the address bar, bringing a significant improvement to security and loading speed. HTTPS adoption has shot up significantly over the past six years after Google announced in 2014 that HTTPS would be used as a ranking signal in search results. In February 2021, W3Techs found that 82.2% of websites use a valid SSL certificate. …
Chrome is Testing a Follow Button for Websites
Chrome Canary, the browser’s nightly build for developers, has been testing a new Follow button, as spotted on Android by the publishers of Chrome Story. The button appears on the homepage of a site, as well as in the browser menu: Chrome Story speculates that it may be integrated with Google’s Discover feature, allowing sites to be easily added to …
EditorsKit Adds Nofollow Options for Links, Fixes Bug with Gutenberg Metaboxes Overlapping in Chrome
EditorsKit is becoming somewhat of a “hotfix” plugin for Gutenberg, especially with the additions to the 1.14 release this week. Developer Jeffrey Carandang added new link formats for nofollow rel attribute options, along with a fix for an annoying bug in Chrome that causes Gutenberg metaboxes to overlap. He has been closely monitoring feedback on both Gutenberg and EditorsKit, introducing …
Chrome 76 Adds Native Lazy-Loading, WordPress Contributors Continue Discussion Regarding Core Support
lazy cat – photo credit: Kate Stone Matheson The latest version of Chrome (76) shipped with a new “loading” attribute that allows developers to specify resources, such as images and iframes, to defer loading until the user scrolls nearer to them. In the past, developers have used third-party libraries to achieve lazy loading but soon this will no longer be …
Google Chrome v62 Adds Support for OpenType Variable Fonts, Expands HTTP Warnings
Google Chrome version 62 was pushed to the stable channel for Windows, Mac, and Linux today and will be rolling out to users over the next few days. The browser is continuing to put the pressure on website owners to migrate to HTTPS. As expected from the roadmap laid out earlier this year, a “Not Secure” warning is now displayed …
Chrome to Add Security Warning to HTTP Sites Beginning 2017
The Google Chrome Security team announced yesterday the browser will begin labeling HTTP connections as insecure starting in January 2017. Chrome currently displays a green lock icon in the address bar for sites that are secure but the security team will be taking it one step further by displaying a warning on unencrypted sites. “Beginning in January 2017 (Chrome 56), …