Vancouver PD website features Quick Escape button that wipes itself from history
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Vancouver PD website adds Quick Escape button that erases browser history.
The VPD website features a "Quick Escape" button that, when clicked, sets the page's opacity to zero, changes the document title to "New Tab", redirects the user to weather.gc.ca, and attempts to replace the current session in the browser history. The button is intended to help users quickly hide the site from an abusive partner or controller. Commenters note the feature has limitations: it does not clear cookies, local storage, IndexedDB, or caches, and the back button may still expose previous pages.
What commenters are saying
Commenters largely praise the feature as a vital safety tool, drawing parallels to historical "boss keys" from video games. However, a strong thread of critique emerges: the implementation fails to clear browser storage (cookies, localStorage, IndexedDB) that abusers often check, and the redirect still leaves a history trail. New Zealand's "Shielded Site" approach is cited as a more robust alternative, using a pop-up that avoids browser history entirely. Some suggest browsers should offer a native "replace page, erase history" hotkey.