New spam policy on "back button hijacking"

Google Search Central has newly designated back button hijacking as a violation under the malicious practices category of its spam policies.

This practice refers to manipulation that prevents users from immediately returning to the previous page they intended to go back to when pressing the browser's back button.

Examples include:

• Sending users to a page they never visited
• Displaying unwanted recommended content or ads
• Interfering with normal browsing to effectively block the back button

Google explains that such practices break user expectations and harm the web browsing experience. In particular, because they increase distrust and inconvenience toward sites, Google is responding consistently with its existing principles on deceptive or manipulative behavior.

The policy impact is clear.

• Affected pages may be subject to manual spam actions.
• Or search visibility may be lowered through automatic demotion.
• The new policy will be enforced starting June 15, 2026.
• Site operators were notified two months in advance to give them time to make fixes.

Site operators should check for any scripts or techniques that manipulate browser history. In particular:

• Remove code that interferes with users' back button navigation
• Check settings in included libraries or advertising platforms that may be causing the issue
• Disable the relevant import or configuration if necessary

Sites that have already received a manual action can submit a reconsideration request after fixing the issue.