Do target=_blank URIs still pass on referrer data?

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I'm interested in using target=_blanks for links but as I don't want to do parameterized URIs I am worried about losing request-based data such as the referrer. Is that fear misplaced?

Roaster answered 10/12, 2010 at 20:36 Comment(1)

if i remember well, IE6 doesn't know to read reffers in blank windows. – Easement 10/12, 2010 at 20:39

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Yes, referrer data is passed when targeting '_blank':

<a href="link" target="_blank">text</a>

Shaky answered 10/12, 2010 at 20:45 Comment(4)

can you cite a source? – Outfoot 19/12, 2013 at 11:45

Doesn't work for me in the latest chrome. Using document.referer in the Chrome console returns an empty string. – Fungible 4/3, 2016 at 21:11

If this used to work, it no longer appears to. And I don't think it's browser specific. I've got several links to my site right now from a popular blog. They all used target=_blank on the links. None of them pass a referrer on. Checked in Chrome and Firefox. – Crumbly 17/2, 2017 at 18:1

wrong answer, referrer data is not passed when using target="_blank" – Marmoreal 29/1, 2018 at 17:43

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No. You can try this in the latest chrome by pasting the following into the address bar:

data:text/html, <a href="http://darwinandsierra.com" target="_blank">text</a>

Then click the link, open the Chrome console and type:

document.referer

It returns a blank string.

Fungible answered 4/3, 2016 at 21:14 Comment(1)

Yes, of course, as the document containing the link does not have a URL - it was opened from a data: source. – Vanzant 27/6, 2019 at 22:7

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All links pass referrer data, unless you manually configure your browser to not send that info.

Mesocarp answered 10/12, 2010 at 20:43 Comment(1)

Shouldn't there be a "don't" somewhere in the last part of the sentence? – Eam 10/12, 2010 at 21:0

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