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How the Browser New Tab Page Evolved from Blank Screen to Attention Battleground

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Early browsers opened to a neutral blank page, with the address bar serving as the main interface for navigation. In the 2000s, browsers like Internet Explorer and Firefox introduced start pages with news, weather, and popular sites, marking a shift toward content. Google Chrome later popularized thumbnail grids of frequently visited sites, though these grew stale over time. Between roughly 2015 and 2020, the new tab became a commercial battleground, with sponsored tiles and attention-driven news feeds competing for user attention. Today, the article argues the best new tab pages favor useful, ambient information over content designed to engage.

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