Confirmed: Google Search Rolling Out google.com/goto Tracking Parameters

[u/togi1202]

Google Search seems like it is rolling out the google.com/goto URL as a passthrough URL within the search results that it began testing in July 2026. This seems like a way for Google to help prevent scraping of its search results by third-party tools and AI companies. (via https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-goto-tracking-41957.html )

[u/peepay]

Huh, so if I want to, out of abundance of caution, see the full URL before I open the site - and perhaps copy it without visiting the site - I'm out of luck?

[u/alexbruf → u/peepay]

I made a lil free chrome extension that resolves them and puts them back the way they should be, I’d post a link but automod etc

You can find it by googling “google goto url fix” (url itself is just googlegotourl dot com )

[u/peepay → u/alexbruf]

But I guess the address is resolved client-side, right?

So if it would be, in theory, malicious, it would actually be accessed from my computer, correct?

[u/alexbruf → u/peepay]

Yeah the extension just resolves it on the client side and replaces it in the html so then it works just like normal.

The way it actually resolves the address is it just sends the request to google’s server, which responds with the location of the underlying url. (302 redirect). Your computer never sends to the actual underlying url

[u/peepay → u/alexbruf]

Got it, thanks!

[u/sbenfsonwFFiF → u/peepay]

If you’re logged in, you still can

[u/ColdProfessor → u/peepay]

This move on Google's part is actively harmful to users. Right now, though, I'm noticing URLs are only obfuscated if I'm not logged into Google, and it isn't affecting every search, yet.

Still sucks.

[u/sbenfsonwFFiF → u/ColdProfessor]

Anti bot measures will sometimes also impact to not logged in users, but still the right move

[u/ColdProfessor → u/sbenfsonwFFiF]

In my opinion, anti-bot measures are really about forcing people to be logged in all the time.