Want to browse with safety but without being slowed down? Find out here how to have Google Chrome check web page safety automatically for any site you visit.
First, Imagine Yourself on a Hot Beach’s Summer Day
I’ll bring you a nice, cold bottle of your favorite hoppy drink. How much are you willing to pay?
Wait, before you answer, I must tell you something. I’ll get the bottle from that run-down and shabby grocery store down the street. Surely, that does not influence how much you will pay; right?
When Richard Thaler put this scenario before research participants in the 1980s, he famously found that people were willing to pay 77 percent more for the same drink from a classy resort hotel versus the run-down grocery store.
Now, while we ponder how meaning- and useful that result is, let us not forget to guard against deception online; with Google Chrome, you can do that just about automatically. How much are you willing to click?
How to Check Page Safety with Google Chrome
Google Chrome for Linux, macOS, and Windows
Time needed: 2 minutes
To make sure Google Chrome checks pages for malicious and deceptive activities (such as malware downloads or phishing attempts) before you get to access them using Chrome options:
- Click the menu button (⠸) in Google Chrome.
- Select Settings from the menu that has appeared.
Chrome keyboard shortcut: On a Mac, you can also press Command , (comma) to open Google Chrome settings.
- Select Privacy and security on the left.
- Now click Security under Privacy and security.
Chrome shortcut: In Google Chrome, you can also open
chrome://settings/securityto go straight to the Security settings. - Do enable Standard protection.
Optional real-time checks: Select Enhanced protection to have Chrome check all pages you visit in real time as you open them—which does share the URLs you browse to Google.
Not recommended: Select No protection for no security checks; see below for what happens during these checks if you are concerned about online privacy; see below for an explanation of what happens during browsing safety checks. You can access unsafe pages and downloads even with safety checks enabled.
Google Chrome for Android and iOS
Google Chrome for Android uses the setting from the desktop browser.
To enable safe browsing checks directly on Google Chrome for Android:
- Open Chrome.
- Tap the More menu button (⠸).
- Select Settings.
- Now tap Privacy under Advanced.
- Do enable Safe Browsing.
Google Chrome for iOS does not check page safety automatically.
How to Have Google Chrome Check Page Safety Automatically: FAQ
How does Google Chrome determine fraudulent sites?
Google Chrome uses Google Safe Browsing.
What happens during a Google Chrome Safe Browsing check?
Checks Using a Blocklist
Google Chrome periodically downloads a list of URLs to be avoided. When you open any page, its address is checked against that list’s latest version right in the browser, right on your device.
If a page you open matches one on the local block list:
- Google Chrome will send a part of the page’s address in “hashed” form (not the entire URL) to Google Safe Browsing servers to verify the site is on the current primary block list.
Checks in the Browser
Google Chrome also checks pages you have opened for suspicious elements. If it detects content that is likely to be malicious or deceptive,
- Google Chrome will send part of that content to Google Safe Browsing servers for additional checks.
Similarly, if you enter a saved password on a site that is different from the one you usually use,
- Google Chrome will submit the URL to Google Safe Browsing to check for phishing.
Can I still access an unsafe site or download a dangerous file?
Yes. If necessary, you can override any safe browsing warning in the Google Chrome desktop browser for pages and downloads alike.
You can, of course, also disable the checks altogether using the above setting.
Google Chrome missed a page I think is unsafe; can I report it?
Yes, you can
- report a phishing page or
- report a page that hosts malware (possibly through hacking)
to Google Safe Browsing.
(How to have Google Chrome check page safety automatically tested with Chrome 111–123; updated April 2024)