Google starts requiring JavaScript to be enabled to use Search
Google has announced that users now need to enable JavaScript to use Google Search. This is a programming language that makes web pages interactive.
Here's What We Know
In an email to TechCrunch, a company spokesperson said that the change is intended to "better protect" Google Search from malicious activity such as bots and spam, as well as to improve the overall user experience.
The representative noted that without JavaScript, many Google Search features would not work properly and the quality of search results would be reduced.
Many large websites use JavaScript. According to a 2020 GitHub survey, 95% of websites on the web use this programming language in some form. Social media users have pointed out that Google's requirement to enable JavaScript may make it difficult for those who use accessibility tools, as some of them may have problems with certain versions of JavaScript.
Google's office. Image: TechCrunch, Getty Images
JavaScript is also prone to security vulnerabilities. In its annual security report 2024, Datadog found that about 70% of JavaScript services are vulnerable to one or more "critical" or "high" vulnerabilities caused by third-party software libraries.
A Google spokesperson said that on average, "less than 0.1%" of Google searches are performed by users who disable JavaScript. This is not a small figure for Google. The company processes about 8.5 billion searches a day, so it's safe to assume that millions of people who search on Google don't use JavaScript.
One of the reasons why Google may require JavaScript is to limit the work of third-party tools that analyse traffic and search trends on Google. According to the Search Engine Roundtable, some tools for checking website rankings in search engines started having problems with Google Search when this requirement became mandatory.
Source: TechCrunch
