Google clarifies the SharedArrayBuffer notification

Earlier this week, Google sent out a notice through Google Search Console with SharedArrayBuffer warnings to site owners. And honestly, it caused a huge amount of confusion and concern amongst those who received it.

Today Google published a blog post with clarifications around why Google sent out the message and what site owners can do to address the potential issue.

Google defines SharedArrayBuffer. Google has defined what a SharedArrayBuffer is by explaining, “SharedArrayBuffer is a JavaScript object to share a memory space across threads on a website. It was used by websites before the vulnerability called Spectre was found. However, because Spectre was a CPU level vulnerability and it’s unlikely to be fixed in the foreseeable future, browsers decided to disable the SharedArrayBuffer object.” As Search Engine Land’s Detlef Johnson accurately explained in our story earlier this week, starting “with version 91, planned to be released in late May 2021, Chrome will gate the SharedArrayBuffer object behind cross-origin isolation,” Google wrote.

The confusion. Many site owners, consultants and SEOs were confused by the messaging, which likely prompted Google’s response:

How to find these issues. Google provided methods to find this SharedArrayBuffer issues listing these two options:

1. Use Chrome DevTools and inspect important pages.
2. (Advanced) Use the Reporting API to send deprecation reports to a reporting endpoint.

Google’s recommendations. Google then listed these next steps to take if you received the Search Console message:

1. Determine where the SharedArrayBuffer object is used on your website.
2. Decide if the usage is necessary.
3. Fix the issue by either removing the functionality or by enabling cross-origin isolation.

Why we care. If you received this message, we recommend you review both Google’s clarification blog post and our story here on Search Engine Land. This should not impact your Google rankings or the way you are seen in Google. This is specific to a Chrome and Firefox update that is coming in the future.

Google explained “After Chrome 91 is released, the SharedArrayBuffer object without cross-origin isolation will no longer be functional. In practice, this means that Chrome users on your site may experience degraded performance similar to other situations where the SharedArrayBuffer object is not supported.”