Remove Current Page From Browser History

JavaScript can be used to tell the browser to forget it ever displayed the current page and to load another page in the same window. If the browser's "back" icon works at all, it will skip over the current page.

Here is a demonstration:

The technique may be applied to, as examples:

• Removing a log-in page from history so the "back" icon won't work. This would prevent the browser from backing up and automatically refilling the log-in form fields like they were before.

• A one-guess quiz. When the response is selected, the browser takes the user to the next page to see if they won (or whatever). The browser won't back up to the page one-guess page for the person to try to change their response.

As you perceive, the technique has limited applicability. When it is used, however, it is quite effective in forgetting the location of the web page.

This is how to use it:

Make a link with a javascript: protocol or a button with an onclick attribute. The destination URL is the JavaScript location.replace() command with the destination URL specified as the replacement.

Here are two examples, one as a link and one as a button.

<a href="javascript:location.replace('https://spamfreeform.com/')">Go to Spam-free Form Website</a>

<input onclick="location.replace('https://spamfreeform.com/')" type="button" value="Tap me">

Replace https://spamfreeform.com/ with the correct destination URL, and you are good to go.

When the user taps the link or the button, the browser will first forget it was at the web page and then load the web page at the destination URL.

(This content first appeared in Possibilities newsletter.)

Will Bontrager