Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Google Chrome, speaks during Google I/O Conference at Moscone Center in San Francisco, California June 28, 2012
(
REUTERS/Stephen Lam
)
Google Chrome to stop backspace being a ‘back’ button, saving people from accidentally deleting everything
The feature has already rolled out in some early versions of the app – and is annoying some users
Google Chrome is finally going to stop people from accidentally deleting everything they’ve been doing.
A future version of the app will stop the backspace button from also functioning as a “back” button, helping avoid people accidentally pressing it and so destroying everything they’ve done on that site.
The feature has already been rolled out in some experimental versions of the app, and has upset some users. Developers have said that the feature is only being partly enabled for now, in case there is “sufficient outcry” and it needs to be rolled back.
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view.
From
15p€0.18$0.18USD 0.27
a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras.
Gadgets and tech news in pictures
Show all 25
Gadgets and tech news in pictures
1/25 Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space
Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy.
Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter
2/25 Hexa drone lifts off
Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019
Reuters
3/25 Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One
Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020
Getty
4/25 First new iPod in four years
Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB
Apple
5/25 Folding phone may flop
Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash
PA
6/25 Charging mat non-starter
Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once
AFP/Getty
7/25 "Super league" India shoots down satellite
India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology
EPA
8/25 5G incoming
5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s
Getty
9/25 Uber halts driverless testing after death
Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018
Getty
10/25
A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore
Getty
11/25
A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore
Getty
12/25
Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty
13/25
Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty
14/25
The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty
15/25
Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty
16/25
Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi
Rex
17/25
Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session
Rex
18/25
A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
Reuters
19/25
A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
Reuters
20/25
A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China
Rex
21/25
A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China
Reuters
22/25
A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China
Reuters
23/25
A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London
Getty
24/25
A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv
Getty
25/25
Electrification Guru Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart talks about the electric Jaguar I-PACE concept SUV before it was unveiled before the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California, U.S
Reuters
1/25 Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space
Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy.
Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter
2/25 Hexa drone lifts off
Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019
Reuters
3/25 Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One
Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020
Getty
4/25 First new iPod in four years
Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB
Apple
5/25 Folding phone may flop
Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash
PA
6/25 Charging mat non-starter
Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once
AFP/Getty
7/25 "Super league" India shoots down satellite
India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology
EPA
8/25 5G incoming
5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s
Getty
9/25 Uber halts driverless testing after death
Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018
Getty
10/25
A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore
Getty
11/25
A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore
Getty
12/25
Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty
13/25
Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty
14/25
The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty
15/25
Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty
16/25
Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi
Rex
17/25
Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session
Rex
18/25
A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
Reuters
19/25
A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
Reuters
20/25
A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China
Rex
21/25
A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China
Reuters
22/25
A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China
Reuters
23/25
A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London
Getty
24/25
A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv
Getty
25/25
Electrification Guru Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart talks about the electric Jaguar I-PACE concept SUV before it was unveiled before the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California, U.S
Reuters
But otherwise the feature will be added to ensure that people don’t accidentally remove all of their work. People regularly press the button thinking that they’re deleting a word from a form, developers said, but then find that they weren’t actually typing into that form and so accidentally go back, losing everything they’ve done.
“The reason we're making this change is that users regularly lose data because they hit the backspace button thinking that a form field is focused. After years of this issue, we realize we're not going to have a better way to solve that problem.”
Many users said that it was hard to do that, and that they used the backspace as a way of going back one step in their browsing.
“This is most annoying,” wrote one user on a Chrome discussion that has become very heated. “I have used this for the past twenty years and have not lost form data using it.”
But Google developers said that the feature will have to be manually added for those that want to continue to use it.
“We're definitely aware of the frustration that this causes users who have come to rely on the shortcut,” wrote one. “We're working to release an extension that will allow users to restore this behavior.
“However for users who don't understand the behavior of the shortcut, which is the majority of users, the loss of data is also super frustrating and they are less equipped to understand or prevent their frustrations. [alt+left] and the extension will allow keyboard back navigation for users who want it while avoiding data loss for users who don't. It's not perfect but we think it's better than the world today.”
Some extensions already offer the ability to save at least some of the work that would be lost with a stray backspace press. The Lazarus tool, for instance, saves what has been entered into web forms so that it should appear back there when a user navigates back onto a page.
Subscribe to Independent Minds to debate the big issues
Want to discuss real-world problems, be involved in the most engaging discussions and hear from the
journalists? Try Independent Minds free for 1 month.
Independent Minds Comments can be posted by members of our membership scheme, Independent Minds.
It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss
real-world solutions, and more. Our journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when
they can to create a true meeting of independent minds. The most insightful comments on all subjects
will be published daily in dedicated articles. You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies
to your comment.
The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to
Independent Minds. Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post
the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate. Please
continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates.
Comments
Share your thoughts and debate the big issues
Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines.
You can find our Community Guidelines in full here.
- -1) ? 'active' : ''">
Newest first
- -1) ? 'active' : ''">
Oldest first
- -1) ? 'active' : ''">
Most liked
{{/moreThanOne}}Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines.
You can find our Community Guidelines in full here.
- -1) ? 'active' : ''">
Newest first
- -1) ? 'active' : ''">
Oldest first
- -1) ? 'active' : ''">
Most liked
{{/moreThanOne_p}}Follow comments
Vote
Report Comment
Subscribe to Independent Minds to debate the big issues
Want to discuss real-world problems, be involved in the most engaging discussions and hear from the journalists? Try Independent Minds free for 1 month.
Already registered? Log inReport Comment
Delete Comment
About The Independent commenting
Independent Minds Comments can be posted by members of our membership scheme, Independent Minds. It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and more. Our journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when they can to create a true meeting of independent minds. The most insightful comments on all subjects will be published daily in dedicated articles. You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your comment.
The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Minds. Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate. Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates.