Google Search A/B Tests Removal of URL Schemes (e.g. http://)

Google Search A/B Tests Removal of URL Schemes (e.g. http://)

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Today, I opened a new tab to search for something on Google and realized something was missing. The scheme was removed from the results.

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Did they just removed HTTPS?

No. Thinking Google removed https:// from the search only, I tried looking up an http-only site, but the http:// scheme was hidden from the search too.

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Interestingly, Twitter cards in search still show the URL's scheme and trying it from another computer brings it even back which lets me conclude that they're still A/B testing it out.

How does it matter though?

It's maybe a security risk. You can't see whether the site you're going to visit uses a secure connection or not. Users may start to assume all sites listed are transported through an encrypted channel.

To check it beforehand, they have to hover your mouse over the link to detect whether or not a site is transported securely.

It simplifies the results though. Since Google started prioritizing HTTPS-enabled websites over plain HTTP, mostly secure URLs will pop up. If it's not the case, then you may get a more relevant result.

What's your opinion about this change?

TL;DR: Google tries to remove URL schemes like http: and https:.