Google Chrome is getting a new feature that blocks misleading and intrusive website notifications

• Google is cracking down on malicious and misleading website notifications in Chrome.
• The browser will soon block such alerts and warn users when a website may be trying to trick them into enabling notifications.
• Google is focusing on two specific notification types: those that trick you into enabling alerts, and those that use notifications to spread malware or pose as fake messages or system prompts.

Google is cracking down on websites that abuse notification privileges in Chrome.

The search giant said it will automatically block misleading and abusive notifications in Chrome and issue a warning to users when a website may be attempting to trick them into allowing alerts. The update will be coming in an upcoming version of Chrome that will be released in July, Google said on Thursday.

The company is focusing on two types of notifications with this update: those that attempt to trick users into allowing alerts, and those that use notifications to spread malware or phishing scams, or pose as fake messages or system prompts. An example of the former might include a website that requires a user to enable notifications to gain access to a website.

When a user stumbles upon a website with either type of notification in Chrome, Google will provide a warning discouraging them from allowing notifications from that website. The prompt will say something like: "This site may be trying to trick you into allowing intrusive notifications," according to the company's blog post. Google says the change will only affect a small number of websites.

The feature will only cover new notification permission requests, but Google says that it may eventually add the warning for abusive notifications that users have already enabled from websites they've previously visited.

Google's move to tighten restrictions on abusive notifications comes after the company has boosted Chrome's security in other ways as well.

Earlier in May, the company announced Enhanced Safety Browsing, an optional tool that Chrome users can choose to enable. With this feature turned on, Chrome will share more browsing data with Google Safe Browsing to keep a closer eye out for nefarious websites during a browsing session.

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