Google announced that users must enable JavaScript to use Google Search.
In an email to TechCrunch, a company spokesperson explained that this change is intended to better protect Google Search from malicious activity like bots and spam and to improve the overall search experience for users. The spokesperson noted that without JavaScript, many features of Google Search do not work properly, and the quality of search results often deteriorates.
Obstacles in accessibility tools
Many major websites use JavaScript. According to a 2020 GitHub survey, 95% of websites use the language in some form. But as users point out on social media, Google’s decision to mandate JavaScript may create obstacles for people who rely on accessibility tools and may have difficulty with certain JavaScript implementations.
JavaScript is also prone to security problems. In 2024, an annual security survey by tech company Datadog found that about 70% of JavaScript services are vulnerable to one or more critical or high-risk vulnerabilities introduced by an external software library.
Majority already use JavaScript
The Google spokesperson told TechCrunch that, on average, less than 0.1% of Google searches are performed by people who disable JavaScript. This may seem small, but that’s a significant number on Google’s scale. Google processes about 8.5 billion searches daily, meaning millions of people use Google without JavaScript.
One of Google’s possible motivations is to hinder external tools that provide insights into Google Search trends and traffic. According to a post on Search Engine Roundtable, several rank-checking tools – which indicate how websites perform in search engines – experienced problems with Google Search when the JavaScript requirement was introduced.
Google’s spokesperson declined to comment on Search Engine Roundtable’s coverage.