It used to be like that when they still used "/url?..." redirect links, which have the destination URLs clearly exposed. Maybe it's an intended feature for checking out where does the link leads to. That behavior can be prevented by browser extensions.

Now, on desktop Firefox (private browsing mode, logged out), I see that it always links to the opaque goto URLs, instead of only overwriting on interaction.

Using Google Search while logged in on Chrome Android still presents the older non-opaque /url?... links though.

It's unfortunate that we cannot immediately inspect what the link will lead to, whether the link is the intended (and safe/expected) destination or not.

Google has done this before. They want to know what you click. There were extensions to undo it in the past. Then they seemingly switched to javascript and stopped the link jacking for a bit. Today, you shouldn't be using google for search. It is one of the worst options. So this new link jacking really doesn't matter.

Tell people to use firefox with ublock origin and privacy badger. I am sure there are even better combinations. Use something to block junk. I just had to install open source local alternatives for someone who was using snapchat as a private journal. She did not realize anything on private is still read by AI and law enforcement. I can't imagine the personal things she posted thinking it was private when it's not. I think her thrapist may have given her this insane non-private idea for journaling. She looked scared.

Degoogle, decloud, debloat. No google camera apps, photos, or local file apps. You are uploading your images to google if you don't stop using their apps.

I installed two open source apps and told her to try them both since I never used these. June and StoryPad.