Chrome 69 No Longer Says Websites Are “Secure” (Even Though They Are) | Tips & Tricks

Google is celebrating Chrome‘s ten-year anniversary with a slick new theme, but there’s another big new change. The familiar green lock and “Secure” indicator in the address bar are going away.

Web users around the world have been trained to look for the green lock and the “Secure” wording before entering a password, credit card number, or other private information. The word “Secure” indicates the connection is encrypted with HTTPS security, preventing any snooping or tampering.

With Chrome 69, released on September 4, 2018, the word “Secure” is gone and the lock icon turns from a bright green into a monochrome gray.

Those encrypted websites are just as secure as they’ve always been, but Google is cleaning up Chrome’s interface. In Google’s opinion, every website you visit should be a secure website that uses HTTPS encryption. Chrome now warns you that standard HTTP connections are “Not Secure,” so you’re using a secure connection unless Chrome says otherwise.

RELATED: Why Does Google Chrome Say Websites Are “Not Secure”?

As Google’s Mariko Kosaka points out on Twitter, this is just the first step. One day, Google will even remove that lock icon from the address bar.

Today is the day! With Chrome 69, You won’t see green “Secure” next to URL. Little step forward to HTTPS being the norm of internet browsing???? pic.twitter.com/zSVIG0gAu0

— Mariko Kosaka (@kosamari) September 4, 2018

This new design will be a bit strange for everyone who’s been trained to look for the lock, but it’s an improvement. We don’t need that lock anymore because everything is just secure by default unless Chrome says otherwise. That’s progress.