Ever see “about:blank” or About Blank page on your web browser’s address bar?
This basically means you are viewing an empty page built into your web browser.
The “about:blank” basically is a blank page on your browser tab. Doesn’t matter whether you use Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, or any other kind of browser.
“about:blank” is a blank page that is built into your web browser displayed when there’s nothing else to display or show.
You would have probably seen this empty page that pop-up in your browser especially when clicking a new link or opening a new tab or Browser window.
What is “about:blank”?
The blank page is built into your web browser. About blank pages are a part of the “about URI scheme,” which is used by the browsers to process the internal commands that they choose to implement.
The “about:” part of the address basically tells the browser to show the internal, built-in web pages. They are generated within the browser itself and they are not from the internet—it’s built into your web browser.
If you didn’t already know, there are several ‘about’ commands for your Browsers. To name a few such as about:downloads, ‘about:about,’ about:settings, ‘about:cache,’ ‘about:plugins,’ etc.
Related read: 9 Best Secure Browsers that Protect Your Privacy & Security
The about:blank page is not intended to load one and does not have a webpage to load. Finally, about:blank is basically what it sounds like—a blank page that is not intended to load.
Why Is about:blank Useful?
A Web Browser has to always display something, after all, and opening the blank about:blank webpage loads when there is nothing else to display.
The “about:” is a command keyword use by browsers to enable some functionality.
Common uses for about:blank
- Preventing the browser from opening numerous Windows or tabs from the previous session
- To maintain privacy upon launch
- Start the session by regulating the bandwidth by opening a non-Internet tab
- To make the homepage blank
- Regulate the processes if you are on an older PC
Causes of “about:blank” (In More Technical Terms)
As mentioned before, the “about blank” page are loaded for different reasons. For instance, when you click a download or external link, it opens in a new second window or tab.
When you click the link, the browser is forced to display a blank page to initiate and start the download process. This is the case for download page and it doesn’t show any URL or address information apart from providing you with the download file.
Another reason for displaying the blank page occurs when you type a web address incorrectly and it lead to the wrong page or an about:blank page is displayed when the browser cannot understand what to show.
Discrepancies in HTML, Java, and other codes can also force the browser to open a blank page because it has no idea what to do based on the information processed.
Is about blank a virus or malware?
Many mistaken the about:blank as a computer virus but technically it isn’t.
So, let me repeat again and be extra clear:
about:blank is not a malware trying to sneak into your PC or smartphone. At the worst case scenario, it’s a symptom of malware. So, make sure to always run up-to-date scans for malware.
If you’re indeed concerned about your PC about malware, you can always perform a scan with an Anti-Virus software of choice.
Again as mentioned before, the Blank page is NOT served from an external source, they are loaded within the browser.
Other possible top reasons for “about:blank” tabs include:
- Bugs in code (they are often generated from websites or applications that open URLs in your web browser)
- If you clicked a link to soon and the Webpage still loading
- Bugs in browsers (Update to the latest version to fix the error)
- If you open a website links manually in a new tab
- Slow or Bad Internet connection (can causes misloaded data, leading to blank pages)
- Corrupted page cache
How to Get Rid of the About:Blank Page?
Well, let me get this straight. Since there are more than one cause for the Blank pages, stopping them to pop-up depends on why they are displayed in the first place.
Technically, you can’t actually get rid of the about:blank completely. They are a part of your web browser, and even if you hide in the settings to not see it again, it’ll always be there under the hood.
If you’d rather see your browser’s New Tab page rather than the blank page, all you have to do is adjusted your browser settings to stop opening those blank pages.
Google Chrome
- Enter “Chrome://Settings” into the URL bar and press “Enter.”
- Next, Click on “Set Pages” next to Open a Specific Page or Pages. Click on the “about:blank” page on the Startup Pages list and replace the “about:blank” field with any URL of a website of your choice.
- Tap on “OK” to save the changes.
Mozilla Firefox
- Enter the combination “Alt-T-O” to open the Firefox Options configuration panel.
- Next, Click on the “General” tab. Next to the Home Page field, replace the “about:blank” with the URL of any website of your choice.
- Click on “OK” to save the changes.
Apple Safari
In Apple Safari on a Mac, select Safari < scroll down to Preferences < choose General. Under the Homepage, remove the “about:blank” and input your desired website URL home page.
Internet Explorer
- Use Keyboard Combination “Alt-X” to load the Tools menu and select the “Internet Options.”
- Click on the “General” tab and replace the “about:blank” with any website URL you choose.
- Select on “Apply,” and tap “OK.”
Once done, Restart your Internet Explorer. The website you input to replace will automatically show up when you launch the browser.
About:blank#blocked
The About:blank#blocked is a security packages from your browser to block access to some particular dangerous and risky links or webpage.
Here is how it works, when you load a link or a website, if the original site is flagged or blocked for security reasons, the about:blank is displayed instead.
This is shown only to websites that are considered risky and malicious but if you see this command prompt page for even the usual normal webpages, make sure to review your browser security settings, your security software settings, and check even your browser extensions.
Unfortunately, there is no single fix since the cause for it isn’t specific for all issues.
FAQ:
What Is about:blank?
In other terms, the about:blank is just one of the many about:[command] options that are available within the about command collection and each having their own particular function to execute within the browser itself.
Can I stop about:black pages?
Is about:black pages dangerous?
Can I Change the “about:blank” to other URL?
Troubleshooting
Note that these pages are relatively harmless but if you see them more often than usual, you might wanna run a quick malware check of your device. These pages can also result from a pre-existing virus on your Browser or the computer.
If the malware scan isn’t solving the issue, try to clear the browser cache, restart and check if it works. If it doesn’t you can check your chrome extension and disable it.
If everything fails, you can always reset your Chrome to its default settings, or to take things further, even uninstall and reinstall the browser.
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