Google has added a new category to its transparency report that serves to keep track of the internet’s encryption efforts.
The new metric will monitor the use of HTTPS encryption on all requests sent to its servers – including data for its own properties as well as the top 100 non-Google destinations.
Google itself is still working to improve the level of encryption of its own products, from high priorities like Gmail and Drive, through to Maps, News and even its ad networks.
As noted by The Verge, the report shows that – excluding YouTube traffic – around 75% of what’s served from Google domains is currently encrypting data.
While Google still has some way to go to reach total encryption, it’s doing better than most of the non-Google sites featured in the report.
The majority of these sites are not using HTTPS, despite Google’s estimate that they are responsible for around 25% of all web traffic on the internet.
Meanwhile, websites that performed well in Google’s transparency report include Facebook, PayPal, Wikipedia and Reddit.
Google will continue to update its transparency report on a weekly basis, which it says aims to shed light on “how laws and policies affect internet users and the flow of information online”.
Commenting on this recent addition to the report, a company statement said: “Our aim with this project is to hold ourselves accountable and encourage others to encrypt so we can make the web even safer for everyone.
“We’re making positive strides, but we still have a ways to go.”
For an overview of encryption and its benefits, ESET’s Lysa Myers recently wrote a concise summary on the subject, helping to define what it is and when to use it.
