Google Officially Removes Cache Snapshot Feature, Disabling the Cache: Command for Web Page Cache Queries

In February 2024, Google announced the removal of the cache snapshot button from Google search results, preventing users from directly viewing the Google cache content of web page links through search result snippets.

Originally, Google used cache technology to create snapshots when crawling web pages, allowing users to view these snapshots as an alternative when a website was inaccessible. This feature was a quick fix for some users facing urgent issues.

Google's rationale for removing the cache snapshot button was that network technology has significantly advanced, making the previously common issue of inaccessible websites rare, thus eliminating the need for the cache snapshot feature.

However, users could still view cache snapshots by using commands like Cache:www.landiannews.com in Google search, until today. Google has officially confirmed the complete removal of this feature.

Starting last night, many users noticed that the Cache: command failed to produce any results, indicating that Google search did not match any content, whereas it previously would have displayed the corresponding web page's cache content.

Subsequently, Danny Sullivan, a liaison for the Google search team, confirmed the feature's removal:

"Yes, it has been removed. I know it's sad, and I'm sad too. It was one of our oldest features, designed to help people access pages because you couldn't always rely on page servers to load properly.

Now, that situation has greatly improved, so we decided to retire it. Personally, I wish we could add a link to the Internet Archive from where the cache links used to be, in the 'About this page' section.

The Internet Archive is a fantastic resource, allowing people to easily see how pages have changed over time. However, this is not guaranteed yet; we are continuing to communicate with the Internet Archive to see how things will develop."

Earlier, Google announced a collaboration with the Internet Archive, whereby users clicking on the three-dot menu behind a website in search results and then on 'Learn more about this page' would find a link to the Internet Archive's cache snapshot of the webpage at the bottom of the new window, allowing them to access the snapshot on the Internet Archive.

It's important to note that the Internet Archive does not cache all web pages, so users may encounter situations where content is not available in the Internet Archive, and there's no good solution for this.

Meanwhile, following complaints about the unavailability of the Cache: command, Google also added an explanation in Search Central for webmasters, announcing the removal of the Cache: command, thereby officially retiring Google's long-running cache system from history.