This article is a WTF explainer, in which we break down media and marketing’s most confusing terms. More from the series →You may not know the name for it, but you’ve probably experienced it: you click on a link to a webpage, hit the “back” button on your browser, but end up on a page you never intentionally visited.That’s called “back button hijacking,” and Google is cracking down on the practice. Execs warned website owners that they will be penalized starting June 15 if they keep doing it.
Opinions on the tactic remain sharply divided: critics view it as a manipulative tactic that degrades the user experience, while some publishers argue it has become a necessary defensive measure against shrinking referral traffic, tougher monetization conditions and growing pressure on audience acquisition.
WTF is back button hijacking?
Back-button hijacking has existed in various forms for more than a decade. A piece of code manipulates a user’s page history by inserting something else when they click “back.” Typically, it inserts a page that contains content recommendations, another webpage on the site, or an ad.
Google is now deeming this a violation of its spam policy, calling it a “malicious practice” in a blog post published April 13, giving website owners two months’ notice before going after those that implement this. (Google AdSense announced on May 8 that it will drop the browser back button trigger for vignette ads by June 15 as well, meaning full-screen ads that appear between page loads will no longer be served when a user hits the back button.)
