This is due to the new Google search penalty for back button hijacking.

Google announced a new spam policy targeting sites that interfere with browser back button navigation. Back button hijacking is now an explicit violation under Google's malicious practices spam policy ...

So you thought you’d just read that webpage and then go back to the previous page? A bold assumption. All too often, clicking the back button in your browser doesn’t actually take you back. It’s ...

Google is putting its foot down on "back button hijacking," an infamous deceptive practice where users are kept on a long loop of pressing the back button but are either not brought anywhere or ...

Key policy change: From June 15, 2026, AdSense vignette ads will no longer trigger via the browser back button to comply with new Google Search anti-hijacking rules. Automation push: Google introduces ...

Jake Peterson is Lifehacker’s Tech Editor, and has been covering tech news and how-tos for nearly a decade. His team covers all things technology, including AI, smartphones, computers, game consoles, ...