A New “Tune”: End of the Lock Icon
September 2023 — Just when we’d finally gotten used to the lock icon in the search bar… it’s going away!
The original purpose of the lock icon was to indicate the security level of a site for sharing sensitive information, by letting the user know whether the site was equipped with an HTTPS for encrypting sensitive data.
When HTTPS became commonplace, the lock icon was updated to indicate whether a website had an SSL certificate — SSL being the protocol that encrypts data for HTTPS, and a certificate being issued by a third-party that verifies the site’s encryption capability.
Every Site Needs SSL. A Certificate Proves A Site Has It.
Originally intended for E-Commerce and other sites where you might upload your personal information, it’s now considered one of the basic needs of any website, up there with having a domain name.
Websites without an SSL certificate receive warnings on millions of user’s browsers, cautioning them against visiting the page — and sometimes blocking them altogether.
Plus, Google and other search engines now use SSL as one of their core markers of site validity and legitimacy, making them a necessity.
Reason for the Change
As of just two years ago, only 11% of Google users understood what the lock icon is meant to signify.
… And unfortunately, a large portion of the remaining 89% still believe it means that a site was free from scams and other bad intentions.
All it means is that data can be transferred securely, without someone listening and picking up the data.
A New Icon Debuts This Month
Anytime now, Google will unveil it’s latest Chrome update, and swap out the lock for it’s new “tune” icon:
The hope is that more people will view it as referring to data transfer security, as opposed to site security.
Have you seen it yet? What do you think? Let us know on Facebook!
