Podcasts Technology Syntax - Tasty Web Development Treats Hasty Treat - Target=_blank security issue? What's the deal with noopener and noreferrer?

Hasty Treat - Target=_blank security issue? What's the deal with noopener and noreferrer?

Published: July 27, 2020, 1 p.m.

In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes talk about noopener and noreferrer and why you should use them with links that have blank targets.

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Show Notes

03:35 - What\u2019s the big deal?

  • If you have a link that is target="_blank" you should add rel=\u201cnoopener\u201d and rel=\u201cnoreferrer\u201d
  • Retail Me Not uses it
  • Valid use cases:
    • Same domain change the page from a popup
    • Cross domain changing page data
  • Example:\xa0https://mathiasbynens.github.io/rel-noopener/

05:39 - Why doesn\u2019t the browser just fix it?

10:48 - Does this hurt SEO?

  • It breaks analytics of the recipient site, turning a referral visit from your site into direct traffic, unless the link has UTM or similar tracking parameters. If you have a site where passing traffic offsite is part of the business model, links need an affiliate id instead.
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