Chrome Flaw Exploits Our Trust In UI

There's a flaw on your phone's web browser. That's assuming you're using Chrome, and assuming Google's not fixed the situation by the time you've read this article. Someone's realized that when you're scrolling through a webpage on the internet, and your URL bar disappears, they've got an opportunity. An opportunity to trick you.

If you scroll down on a webpage in Chrome the URL bar disappears. Once you're on a fullscreen webpage and scroll back up, your URL bar is supposed to re-appear. Sometimes you'll need a couple scrolls to get back up to that point, but it should re-appear. If you're on a webpage with this new exploit, you'll see a URL bar – but it won't be yours.

Instead, when you scroll back up on a webpage with this exploit, the developer's URL bar will appear. That bar LOOKS like it's part of the Chrome app, but it's not. Instead, it serves to function however the developer wishes.

Chances are you'll find yourself sent to a new webpage, to places you did not expect. Even if you know the exploit exists, and make sure you scroll to the top of the webpage to make SURE you've got the right URL bar, some forms of this exploit can stop your URL bar from re-appearing.

So, that's kind of a bummer. There's no current fix for the situation, other than using a different web browser, or making certain you only visit websites you trust. Or you could just close your tab every time you want to visit a new webpage – but that gets tiresome.

As James Fisher noted, "Is this a serious security flaw? Well, even I, as the creator of the inception bar, found myself accidentally using it! So I can imagine this technique fooling users who are less aware of it, and who are less technically literate." So keep it 100 and attempt to stay safe!