Google's Plan to 'kill' URLs Revealed

Google seems set to 'kill' website URLs with an upcoming update of its popular browser Chrome. With this update, Chrome browser will show the website's URL as a clickable button, while address bar (officially called Omnibox) will still be used to type a website's name or search query.

This update, called Origin Chip, is part of the build for Chrome 36, which is due in July. The web browser is currently on build 34, and the next version is due this month.

At present, this feature is in testing stage and users can choose to enable or disable it by putting chrome://flags/#origin-chip-in-omnibox in the Omnibox.

At present, the Omnibox displays a website's full URL, as shown in the image below:

After the Chrome 36 update, the browser will show the URL in this manner:

Therefore, if users are reading a particular story on TOI.com, they will only see timesofindia.indiatimes.com, not the whole link. In order to edit the URL or copy it, they can click on the website using the mouse or use Ctrl+L keyboard shortcut.

Google is presently assessing users' reaction to this new feature, so the feature may not make it to the actual Chrome 36 version that the company rolls out.

While Google has not made an official comment on this feature, the tech community is busy speculating reasons behind this change. One of the reasons cited for this change is that it will help crack down on phishing attacks. As with the sub-domain clearly spelled out besides the Omnibox, users would be able to better see if the website they are visiting is official or not.

Apple's Safari browser for mobile devices also does not show the full website URL, just the main domain name.