Google moves to kill off the URL entirely in new version of Chrome

Google, having removed the age-old, comfortable-like-an-old-pair-of-socks http:// from the beginning of URLs in Chrome's address bar, is now trialing an even more drastic move: Killing off the URL entirely. In a new version of Chrome, the full URL vanishes from the address bar, instead replaced by an always-present "Search Google" box. This is obviously a play to drive more search traffic -- but, as much as it pains me to say it, it's probably a very good way of helping most users avoid phishing attacks. Plus, let's be honest, isn't the URL an antiquated vestigial stump from the olden days of the World Wide Web that's ripe for axing anyway?

This change, internally dubbed the "origin chip" is being tested in Chrome 36. The current stable build of Chrome is version 34. Like Firefox, Chrome has a rolling six-week release schedule. Version 35 should be released in the third week of May, with version 36 coming in the first week of July. The origin chip -- the killing of the URL -- may make it into version 36, or it may not. Commenting at Hacker News(Opens in a new window), one Chrome developer says they're currently looking at "a few key metrics to see if this change is a net positive for Chrome users."

Given Chrome's history with the humble URL, though, I fully expect Google to push ahead with the change. As you may remember, when Chrome first came out, the address bar was just an address bar. You could prefix addresses with ? to search Google, but otherwise your input was treated as a literal URL. Later, it became the true Omnibox, where unless you specifically entered a full URL, it triggered a Google search. More recently, Chrome has started graying out the URL after the domain name (a nice change designed to help users focus on the domain, to prevent phishing attacks). And now this, which removes the URL entirely, leaving just the domain name.

In terms of usability, the new origin chip is actually quite nice. If you click the chip, the full URL is displayed (with a slick little animation) and selected -- just like if you click inside the address bar in the current version of Chrome. You can also still click in the address bar and use Ctrl-L to select the full URL (it triggers the same cutesy animation). Basically, if you know what you're doing -- if you know that the origin chip is a button -- then the change isn't all that bad. The problem, of course, is that most users probably won't realize that it's a button. Likewise, while there's a config option for power users who prefer to always see the URL -- chrome://flags/#origin-chip-in-omnibox -- it isn't something that your mom or pop would change.

You can also argue that URLs, sadly, are becoming a thing of the past. As you may have heard before, by far the most popular search terms on Google are for websites such as "facebook," "youtube," or "bbc" -- and they have been for some time. It is still common to click on URLs, of course, or copy/paste them, but it is increasingly rare to type out a full URL in the address bar. There are also a lot of modern JavaScript-powered websites and web apps that don't play nicely with URLs. There just aren't that many legitimate reasons to have the full URL on display all of the time.