Google Safe Browsing

Google Safe Browsing is a Google service that maintains lists of unsafe web resources, such as phishing and malware sites, and warns people before they visit them. Its data is used in Chrome and other Google products, and other browsers including Firefox and Safari also use it, so a listing can protect a large share of web users even while a site is still online.

How it works

Google finds unsafe sites through its own crawling and analysis, and through reports from users and security teams. When a URL is classified as phishing, browsers that check Safe Browsing show a full-page red warning instead of loading the site. Developers can query the data through Google's Safe Browsing APIs.

• Anyone can report a suspected phishing page through Google's Safe Browsing report form.
• Google reviews the report; there is no guaranteed time, and a report does not automatically result in a listing.
• Owners of a site that has been flagged, for example after a compromise, can clean it up and request a review in Google Search Console.

A Safe Browsing listing is a warning, not a removal: the site still exists at its host until it is taken down there.

Example

As an illustration, a phishing page on examplebank-secure[.]net is reported to the registrar, the host and Google Safe Browsing at the same time. The host takes a day to respond, but within hours visitors arriving from the SMS campaign start seeing the red "Deceptive site ahead" warning in their browsers, and far fewer of them reach the fake login form.

How to spot it

Signs that a site is, or is not yet, flagged:

• a full-page red warning in Chrome or Firefox when opening the URL;
• the status shown for the URL in Google's Transparency Report site status tool;
• a Search Console security issue notice, if the flagged site is yours;
• no warning even though the page is clearly phishing, which often points to cloaking hiding it from scanners.

What brands can do

Report every confirmed phishing URL to Safe Browsing as part of your phishing takedown process, together with reports to Microsoft SmartScreen and other domain blocklists. Include the exact URL victims receive, not just the home page. Keep your own sites secure so they are not flagged after a compromise. Phishvoid submits verified URLs to Safe Browsing alongside source takedowns; you can report a suspicious site to us.

Read more: How to Report a Scam Website (and Get It Taken Down)