Chrome now asks before connecting to an insecure public website, rather than merely marking the page after you've arrived. Google says the protection is enabled by default for all users, extending a safeguard previously switched on for people using Enhanced Protection.
The useful distinction is when the warning appears. An HTTP connection can expose traffic before you have a chance to notice a small badge in the address bar. This change puts the decision ahead of that connection. For you, it's a reason to reconsider an old bookmark, not a reason to switch off browser warnings.
A warning before the connection
The Chrome security team's rollout announcement says the browser asks permission the first time you visit an HTTP site. If you approve it, Chrome won't repeatedly interrupt regular visits. The warning returns after you haven't visited that site for at least two weeks.
There are deliberate exceptions. By default, the warning doesn't cover local IP addresses such as a home router's address, or single-word intranet names. Those destinations often can't obtain a publicly trusted HTTPS certificate. An absent warning on your router page therefore isn't evidence that its connection is encrypted.
That makes the new default useful without turning every local-device setup session into an alert. It also means you shouldn't use the presence or absence of this particular warning as your only security check.
Check the route you take to a site
Google's earlier HTTPS-by-default explanation describes why even a brief HTTP detour matters. A link can first open an insecure address and then redirect to HTTPS. That initial navigation still gives a network attacker an opportunity to interfere, even though the destination eventually looks secure.
The setting, called Always Use Secure Connections, attempts HTTPS and warns when it isn't available. It is a connection safeguard, rather than a judgement about whether an article, shop or download deserves your trust.
For a familiar service, my recommendation is to stop and check the address rather than reflexively continue. Find its official HTTPS address through a trusted route, and replace an outdated bookmark if that's the problem. If a public service genuinely lacks HTTPS, ask its operator for a secure way to use it before entering personal information.
If you maintain a website, test how visitors reach it, including older links you still distribute. A working homepage isn't the whole journey. Your goal should be to remove the insecure step, not teach customers to dismiss the warning.
Leave the protection enabled. When it interrupts you, treat that pause as a chance to choose a safer route, even when the destination is familiar.