Chrome says a connection is not secure: what to do

A connection warning can stop you before you send information over an unprotected link. Google's planned October 2026 Chrome change makes its HTTPS warning more common for public websites, so learn what the message means before dismissing it.

This guide follows Google's current help. The screenshots are Google's published Chrome illustrations. They show example screens, not a warning encountered on a real business website.

1. Read the exact warning

1. Stop before entering a password, payment detail or personal information.
2. If the address bar says Not secure, the connection is not private. For a full-page warning, read the exact message and compare it with these cases. Wording can vary.

• This site doesn't support a secure connection means Chrome could not use HTTPS for that visit.
• Your connection is not private is a different connection error. The cause may involve the site, your network or your device.
• A full-page red Dangerous warning means Google Safe Browsing has flagged the site as unsafe.

Enlarge image

Google's Chrome illustration with a secure-connection warning and a Go back button

×

Google's example warning for a site without a secure connection. Choose Go back. Cropped from Google's HTTPS announcement.

Open full-size image

For the first warning, choose Go back, or the equivalent return button on your screen. For a Dangerous warning, leave the site. Do not follow an instruction to disable your protection just to finish a purchase.

2. Check the address before trying again

1. Open the address from a bookmark you trust or the organisation's official contact material.
2. Check the full domain for spelling mistakes and extra words.
3. If an old bookmark starts with http://, try the same correct address with https://.
4. If HTTPS still produces a warning, stop and contact the site owner through a contact route you already know.

HTTPS protects the connection. It does not establish that the business is honest. Our online-store checklist covers the separate checks before buying.

3. Check your Chrome setting

1. In desktop Chrome, open More, then Settings.
2. Select Privacy and security, then Security.
3. Under Secure connections, find Always use secure connections. Turn it on if you want Chrome to try HTTPS and warn before falling back.
4. Choose whether to warn for public sites only or for both public and private sites.

Enlarge image

Chrome secure-connections setting with public-site warnings selected in Google's illustration

×

Google's cropped illustration shows Always use secure connections enabled, with warnings for public sites selected.

Open full-size image

The public-only choice excludes private addresses such as a company intranet. That exclusion does not make an intranet connection encrypted. Ask your administrator before changing a managed browser's policy.

Google's announcement schedules the public-sites default for Chrome 154 in October 2026. Check your setting directly rather than assuming the new default has reached your browser.

4. Report a persistent problem

1. Copy the exact warning and error code without including personal information.
2. Tell the site's support team which public page failed and when it happened.
3. For a work site, contact your IT team. If the website does not provide HTTPS, its owner must add it; refreshing the page cannot do that.

If the message says "Your connection is not private"

Use Google's specific error-message instructions (opens in a new tab) to identify the cause. If your computer's clock is wrong, correct it and try again. For a managed work device, ask IT before changing certificates or security software. A workaround that bypasses certificate checks does not repair the connection.

Sources: connection symbols and warnings (opens in a new tab), desktop security settings (opens in a new tab), HTTPS default announcement (opens in a new tab), specific error messages (opens in a new tab).