Google Search Central·Apr 13, 2026
Critical
Introducing a new spam policy for "back button hijacking"
Key Takeaways
- Google is now treating back button hijacking as a spam violation subject to ranking penalties
- The policy targets sites that prevent normal back-button functionality or redirect users when they attempt to navigate away
- This is an official Google Search policy change announced on Google Search Central
- Sites engaging in this practice may face manual actions or algorithmic penalties
Why it matters: SEO professionals need to audit their sites for any back-button manipulation, as Google will now penalize this practice. If your site or client sites use JavaScript or other techniques to intercept back-button behavior, you should remove or fix these implementations immediately to avoid ranking loss.
Spam PolicyUser ExperienceGoogle SearchRanking Penalties