The new two-stage browser warning makes it easier to distinguish between shifty and dangerous URLs.
The new two-stage browser warning makes it easier to distinguish between shifty and dangerous URLs.
Google is launching a new browser safety feature for Chrome that aims to keep you better informed about how malicious a website might be before you open it. The suspicious site warnings build on a similar two-stage system introduced for Chrome file downloads in 2024, which provides visually different notifications for blocked files based on whether they’re determined to be “suspicious” or “dangerous.”
For the Chrome site warnings, the feature will flag a website as suspicious if it detects that it has similar qualities to other sites associated with phishing, malware, and scams. Google describes this warning as having a “lower confidence verdict” with possible risk of user harm — meaning there’s a chance it could be incorrectly flagged, but you should only proceed to the site if you’re 100 percent confident that it’s safe to do so. The warnings on “dangerous” website have a higher confidence verdict and “high risk of user harm,” however, and should be avoided entirely.
It’s easy to distinguish between these warnings at a glance. The notifications for suspicious websites will appear as a pop-up window on both desktop and mobile, with the webpage visible but darkened underneath, and an option to “Mark as safe” if the site was flagged mistakenly. The already familiar notification for dangerous sites is much harder to ignore: the warning message takes up almost the entire screen and the website will be replaced with a solid red background.
Google also improved Gemini-powered scam detection for Enhanced Protection users, alongside introducing the browser warning redesign. It’s unclear if the suspicious website notifications are available to all Chrome users or just those with Enhanced Protection — we’ve asked Google to clarify and will update if we hear back.
