If you have been searching for things via Google's engine and you haven't been able to use its "Cached" feature for a little while, you are not alone. This week, Google confirmed that the Cached option for websites in its search results has officially been shut down.
The announcement was made by Google's Danny Sullivan on his Google Search Liason X (formerly Twitter) account after people started noticing the Cached option was no longer showing up.
Hey, catching up. Yes, it's been removed. I know, it's sad. I'm sad too. It's one of our oldest features. But it was meant for helping people access pages when way back, you often couldn't depend on a page loading. These days, things have greatly improved. So, it was decided to…
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) February 1, 2024
Sullivan expressed his own disappointment and sadness over the shutdown of the Cached option in Google Search. The feature was first put in when the Internet was not as reliable as it is today. The Cached feature was included so users could see the content of a site even if it was not currently loading. However, Sullivan added, "These days, things have greatly improved. So, it was decided to retire it."
Even though that may have been the reason to shut it down, the Cached option in Google Search was still considered to be helpful in this day and age. In particular, people, especially journalists, could check to see if any content on a site had been changed due to a mistake. It was also helpful for SEO workers to view any previous issues with a site.
Sullivan did feel that adding older website links from the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine site could be used in Google Search, stating, "We have to talk to them, see how it all might go -- involves people well beyond me." However, it's yet another example of Google quietly retiring a long-time feature or service that's been very helpful for millions of people worldwide.
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