Google starts requesting JavaScript for Google search

Google says it has begun requiring users to turn on JavaScript, the programming language widely used to make web pages interactive, in order to use Google Search.

In an email to TechCrunch, a company spokesperson claimed that the change is intended to “better protect” Google Search against malicious activity, such as bots and spam, and to improve users’ overall Google Search experience. The spokesperson noted that without JavaScript, many Google search features will not work properly, and that the quality of search results tends to deteriorate.

“Enabling JavaScript allows us to better protect our services and users from bots and sophisticated forms of abuse and spam, and provide the most relevant and up-to-date information,” a spokesperson told TechCrunch.

Many major websites rely on JavaScript. According to According to a 2020 GitHub survey, 95% of sites around the web use the language in some form. But as users on social media PointGoogle’s decision to require this may increase friction for those who rely on accessibility tools, which could Struggle with some JavaScript implementations.

JavaScript is also vulnerable to Security vulnerabilities. In its 2024 annual security survey, technology firm Datadog found that about 70% of JavaScript services are vulnerable to one or more “critical” or “high-risk” vulnerabilities introduced by a third-party software library.

A Google spokesperson told TechCrunch that on average, “less than 0.1%” of searches on Google are done by people with JavaScript disabled. That’s not a small number on Google’s scale. Google processes about 8.5 billion searches every day, so one can assume that millions of people performing searches via Google are not using JavaScript.

One of Google’s motives here may be to block third-party tools that provide insight into Google search and traffic trends. According to In a post on the Search Engine Roundtable on Friday, a number of “rank check” tools — tools that indicate how websites perform in search engines — began having issues with Google Search around the time Google’s JavaScript requirements went into effect.

A Google spokesperson declined to comment on the search engine roundtable reports.