Google Still Does Not Support WebSocket Connections In Googlebot

Apr 12, 2022 - 7:21 am 2 by

Google Wires Websockets

Google does not support WebSocket connections in Googlebot. This was first known, I think, back in May 2019, when Martin Splitt and Zoe Clifford presented at Google I/O. Zoe Clifford said there "Google does not allow WebSocket connections in Googlebot for architectural reasons."

Martin Splitt was recently asked if this is still true and Martin replied "As far as I know, not available as of today, no."

WebSocket is a computer communications protocol, providing full-duplex communication channels over a single TCP connection. The WebSocket protocol was standardized by the IETF as RFC 6455 in 2011. The current specification is known as the HTML Living Standard. It is maintained by the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG), a consortium of the major browser vendors (Apple, Google, Mozilla, and Microsoft).

This is the code sample Martin and Zoe shared in the Google I/O talk:

click for full size

Here are those new tweets:

Forum discussion at Twitter.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: January 16, 2026

Jan 16, 2026 - 10:00 am
Google Updates

Google Search Ranking Volatility Hits January 15-16

Jan 16, 2026 - 8:41 am
Search Video Recaps

Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Personal Intelligence, Universal Commerce Protocol, Apple Picks Gemini & Ongoing Search Volatility

Jan 16, 2026 - 8:01 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google To Prioritize Removing Prediction News Content From Search & News

Jan 16, 2026 - 7:55 am
Google Maps

Google AI Overview Local Pack Leading To Huge Drops In Visibility

Jan 16, 2026 - 7:51 am
Bing Ads

Microsoft Advertising Adds Share Of Voice Metrics, Asset Group-Level URL Options, Customer Acquisition Goals...

Jan 16, 2026 - 7:41 am
 
Previous Story: Bing Insights Sub-Snippets In Search Results