Google Blocking Browsers with JavaScript Turned Off

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I was using Mojeek’s Search Choices button to send my keywords to Google so that I could continue searching. Typically, I receive search results with basic HTML. And that is what I wanted.

Today, I received a block from Google suggesting that JavaScript will be required for searching on Google going forward.

The browser you’re using has JavaScript turned off. To continue your search, turn it on.
The browser you’re using has JavaScript turned off. To continue your search, turn it on.1448×934 76.3 KB

Retrying the search later worked.

Google typically uses a canary deployment strategy where a small fraction of the millions of searches are exposed to new software or policies.

I assume that is what happened in these examples. One search had the new policy. And the later search was subject to the old policy and went through.

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Thanks for posting this @mike, I’m going to nick it as it’s very useful for social media. I would imagine that the number of Google users blocking js is probably quite small; much like other things (VPN hostility) their test base will probably carry it to the main search soon enough.

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I wasn’t aware Google actually worked without Javascript enabled until now. To be fair, I don’t think I’ve used Google this decade.

Though the percentage of JS-blocking Mojeek users seems to be quite high!

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At first I thought it was ridiculous, but now it is my default on mobile. On desktop it depends on if I am working or doing personal stuff.

Someone needs to do a widespread survey on JavaScript blocking and computer use.

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For reference, here is what Google looks like without JavaScript.

Google - No JavaScript - Search Engine Results Page
Google - No JavaScript - Search Engine Results Page2312×5281 1.08 MB

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I noticed that Google went from occasionally blocking to completely blocking search results on Firefox. So, I looked for a news update on this issue.

TechCrunch wrote that Google is now blocking all non-JavaScript users and confirmed the story with Google.

Some people reported that their command-line tools still worked with specific user-agents. But, I expect those exceptions will be blocked once they start getting abused.

@Josh with regards to your earlier comment:

The Google spokesperson told TechCrunch that, on average, “fewer than .1%” of searches on Google are done by people who disable JavaScript.

@bbbhltz I did not see data on clients. But, the Internet Archive has been tracking JavaScript use on the pages it crawls.

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if you disable honoring <noscript> tags you don’t get the warning message … but you don’t get any results either :slight_smile:

hopefully this steers more people away from this evil company - people need to stop trading their privacy and that of those they communicate with for convenience sake