The September release of iOS 11 will see Apple implement a tweak to how certain links display.

Stripping AMPs

When iOS 11 detects an AMP link in a shared URL, it will strip out the Google-defined data and revert it to a canonical link.

So, iOS users will go to the original published source of linked articles rather than Google-mediated ones inherent in AMP links.

Publishers should like this move: they’ll get greater control of traffic-flow from page visits.

AMP is…

The AMP project is a Google initiative aimed at making the web load faster, for pages and ads alike. It stands for Accelerated Mobile Page.

AMP links display in the Google Feed and Search. They show page versions that load doubly faster thanks to streamlining and data compression.

Google says…

This may seem anti-Google, but no. It looks like Google asked Apple (and others) to do it.

A technical lead from the AMP project posted on Hacker News that they want all browser vendors to strip AMP links from shared URLs. Indeed, AMP policies say that all platforms should show canonical article URLs whenever possible.

The implementation by Safari treats AMP links as a special case. Google techs hope broader solutions for canonical-linking will arise soon.

Is AMP working for you, or causing you headaches? How do you want these links handled?

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