Google officially ends 'Cached' web page feature in search results

Google Search has officially ended the "Cached" web page feature in its search results, as announced by Google representative Danny Sullivan on X. The tool allowed users to view webpages as they were indexed by Google, and the company pointed to the enhanced reliability of the internet as the main reason for this decision.

The Cached feature was originally developed during a time of less reliable internet, allowing users to view website content even with connectivity problems. However, as the internet has become more dependable, Google has chosen to retire this feature, although it was still used by some users, mainly to monitor historical changes to webpages or by users with blocked websites using the cached feature as an alternative to a VPN.

The removal of cache links has been ongoing for several months and is expected to be completed soon. Sullivan proposed that incorporating older website links from the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine into Google Search could be a potential alternative, although this is still under consideration.