Welcome to the week’s Pulse: updates affect what Google considers spam, what happens when you report it, and what agentic search looks like in practice. Here’s what matters for you and your work.

On June 15, Google will implement a new spam policy that will allow it to punish sites that interfere with your browser's back button. So-called “back button hijacking" is any behavior that interferes ...

PCWorld reports that Google will penalize websites that hijack the browser’s back button, a manipulative practice that redirects users to unwanted pages or ads. This new spam policy violation, ...

Google is putting its foot down on "back button hijacking," an infamous deceptive practice where users are kept on a long loop of pressing the back button but are either not brought anywhere or ...

Jake Peterson is Lifehacker’s Tech Editor, and has been covering tech news and how-tos for nearly a decade. His team covers all things technology, including AI, smartphones, computers, game consoles, ...

Tyler is a writer for CNET covering laptops and video games. He's previously covered mobile devices, home energy products and broadband. He came to CNET straight out of college, where he graduated ...

Something to look forward to: Google has announced that it will begin penalizing websites that interfere with the normal functioning of a web browser's back button. Known as back button hijacking, ...

So you thought you’d just read that webpage and then go back to the previous page? A bold assumption. All too often, clicking the back button in your browser doesn’t actually take you back. It’s ...

Google announced a new spam policy targeting sites that interfere with browser back button navigation. Back button hijacking is now an explicit violation under Google's malicious practices spam policy ...

An update allows programmable switches, also known as buttons, to work in Google’s smart home platform. An update allows programmable switches, also known as buttons, to work in Google’s smart home ...

Google Home has finally added support for smart buttons. The update adds new automation starters and conditions, including robot vacuum docking and humidity levels. It also broadens the list of ...

Blake has over a decade of experience writing for the web, with a focus on mobile phones, where he covered the smartphone boom of the 2010s and the broader tech scene. When he's not in front of a ...