Google has announced a couple of new features for its Chrome browser, which are planned for later this year. First, there's a security feature meant to protect user data from potentially unsafe forms. Essentially, the feature will disable the ability for Chrome to autofill forms on websites that make mixed use of HTTPS, meaning they don't use HTTPS to submit forms. Previously, these websites were only signalled by a lock icon on the address bar.
Chrome's password manger will still work on forms that require a username and password, though, since Google claims it helps users input unique passwords, rather than reusing them. In addition to disabling autofill, Google will add a warning under the text field saying that the page is not secure, and even after the user submits the form, a full-screen warning will warn users they may be putting their information at risk.
On a separate note, Google has also announced a small new feature for Chrome on mobile devices. Currently rolling out to Chrome 85 in the beta channel, there's a flag that lets users see whether a page is optimized for mobile devices. Once the flag is enabled, users can long press on a link in a webpage, and the pop-up menu will have a message saying whether that page meets the Core Web Vitals metrics - that is to say, it will say if the page is fast to load.
Chrome 85 is set to hit the stable channel on August 25, so the feature should be more widely available by then. Chrome 86 is currently slated for October 6, and it's also possible that it will include another security feature that hides URL paths.
