Google has announced a decision to add an HTTPS-First mode to Chrome 94, which resembles the HTTPS Only mode that was introduced earlier in Firfox 83. When trying to open a resource without encryption via HTTP, the browser will first try to access the HTTPS site, and if the attempt fails, the user will be shown a warning about the lack of HTTPS support and a suggestion to open the site without encryption. In Chrome 94, the new mode will be available as a separately enabled option, but in the future Google is considering enabling HTTPS-First by default for all users (Mozilla has similar plans to enable HTTPS Only by default in Firefox).
According to Google statistics, over 90% of Chrome requests are currently made using HTTPS. The addition of HTTPS-First is expected to improve this metric. In the long term, HTTP support in Chrome will be retained, but Google plans to add additional warnings to inform users about the threats that arise when accessing sites without encryption, as well as restrict access to some web platform features for pages opened via HTTP.
At the same time, a decision was announced to conduct an experiment in Chrome 93 to replace the secure connection indicator (the lock in the address bar) with a more neutral and non-double-interpreting symbol (for example, βVβ), clicking on which opens a dialog with page settings. Connections established without encryption will continue to display the "not secure" indicator. The reason for replacing the indicator is that many users associate the lock indicator with the fact that the content of the site can be trusted, and do not perceive it as a sign of encryption of the connection. According to a Google survey, only 11% of users understand the meaning of the padlock icon.
Source: opennet.ru