Google’s main job as a search engine is to provide users with the results that most closely fit their search query. Websites that don’t utilize HTTPS could rank lower in results Like we mentioned before, the “not secure” warning simply means that your information is not secure on that website and that you should refrain from entering any personal information. That’s one thing you don’t have to worry about! When users see a “not secure” warning, they may think that it’s the first sign of a computer virus or malware. “Not secure” doesn’t mean your computer is infected Starting in July 2018, the search engine started providing users with the “not secure” marker in the search bar - potentially decreasing site visitors to insecure sites. Google has always advocated for HTTPS sites as opposed to HTTP sites, but in 2018, they made that even more clear. HTTPS provides encryption, which means nobody can track or steal personal information, integrity, which means that data can’t and won’t be corrupted during transfer, and authentication, which validates that websites are communicating correctly with the right website. Popular websites like and use HTTPS to show users that they are safe when browsing and making purchases on their websites. This means that when you see a website URL starting with HTTPS, you won’t get a “not secure” warning, and you don’t have to worry about the possibility of hackers stealing your personal information that you use on the website. On the other hand, website URLs that are preceded by HTTPS are secure. You can read more about how HTTP affects site rankings further down the page. This means that your login info, or worse yet, your personal information like credit card numbers, could be stolen, read, or modified by hackers. Unfortunately, website URLs that are preceded by HTTP are not secure. It’s a protocol used by the World Wide Web in order to fetch HTML documents - or in short, display web pages. HTTP, or Hypertext Transfer Protocol, is placed at the front end of website URLs in order to display a website. Here are some things you should know when it comes to websites that aren’t secure: HTTP websites are not secure You might ask yourself questions like “what does ‘not secure’ website mean?” or “what information isn’t secure?” These are both valid questions and something that you should be aware of before entering a website that has the dreaded warning in the search bar. If you’ve visited a website, (maybe even your own), and noticed a warning in the search bar that says, “not secure,” you’re no stranger to feeling cautious upon entering the website.