HTTP status code 301 is used to indicate that content has moved permanently, and that the returned URL should be used to access the requested content in future.

RFC 2616 says

Clients with link editing capabilities ought to automatically re-link references to the request-URI to one or more of the new references returned by the server, where possible.

Do any browsers actually implement this and change a bookmark's URL?

1

3 Answers

I tested the web browsers on my computer and none of them changed the address stored in the bookmark.

  • Internet Explorer 7 - no
  • Firefox 3.0 - no
  • Chrome 4.0 - no
  • Opera 10.01 - no

How I tested

First, I found some addresses that return a 301. For example, google.com returns a 301 to

In each browser, I went to the bookmark editor, and manually created a bookmark for the old address. I visited the bookmark, then looked at the bookmark's properties to see if the address was updated to the new address.

While working on this, I came across a similar Stack Overflow question you may find interesting: Client Web Browser Behavior When Handling 301 Redirect.

3

I don't think so. They could at least ask you couldn't they?

"Such and such a site has updated their url. Would you like to update your bookmark?"

Chromium doesn't, but there was an issue raised for this , which was closed due to inactivity and lack of feedback.

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