6 Fixes For The Your Connection Is Not Private Error [Solved]

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You’re browsing the internet when all of a sudden you get hit with this error “your connection is not private“. This is due to what’s known as an SSL error.

SSL (secure sockets layer) is an internet technology designed to ensure that site visitor data entered into a webpage is secure and private.

Whenever a SSL error Net::ERR_CERT_DATE_INVALID occurs in Google Chrome, it’s essentially informing you that your computer or internet connection is preventing Chrome from loading the page privately and securely.

We’ve gathered fixes for Chrome, Macintosh and Android browsers where this error commonly occurs- scroll down to get our solutions list.

But, rest assusured- lots people have had this problem and got it fixed:

Chrome: Your Connection Is Not Private Error

If you’re on Windows 7 or Windows 10 desktop, this is a common error. Below, we’ve listed some common fixes.

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your connection is not private Fixes

Solution #1: Correct The Date and Time Of Your Computer

The first fix is to ensure that the date and time are correct on your computer.

  1. So, right click on the date and time section and select “Adjust date/time”.
  2. Make sure that the information is correct- select your appropriate time zone.

Solution #2: Examine Your Antivirus Program Settings

Your antivirus software could be causing this error depending on your settings. An over-sensitive antivirus application could be disrupting your browsing experience.

One possible fix, depending on which antivirus you’re using, is to switch off the “Scan SSL” option. Only do this if you’re confident that the sites you’re visiting are clean of viruses, spam or malware.

If you can’t find a setting like that, consider temporarily suspending your antivirus and revisiting the offending site- that’s a good way to test if your antivirus program is causing the “your connection is not private” error.

Solution #3: Try Chrome’s Incognito Mode

Press Ctrl + Shift + N at the same time on your keyboard- this will start an Incognito session- paste the URL you’re trying to visit and see if it generates the connection privacy error.

If it doesn’t, it could be that one of your Chrome extensions is preventing the site from loading. Because, with Incognito mode, none of your Extensions are active- so if the site is loading, it’s essentially indicating that one of the Extensions is the possible culprit. Try temporarily disabling various extensions.

Navigate to Settings > Extensions. There might be an error indication here regarding SSL sites- so first browse through and see if any extensions are flagged for causing an SSL interference.

If not, try deactivating some possible culprits, one at a time, and testing whether that fixes the connection problem.

Solution #4: Clear Browsing Data

This is another easy fix. Sometimes, if you’ve built up too much browsing data in Chrome, the “your connection is not private” error can occur every so often.

Google Chrome: How to Clear Browsing Data (History, Cache, Cookies, Temporary Files)

If you’re not particularly tech-savvy, you should know that as you browse the Internet and are visiting websites, you are actually downloading copies of its content (like images) to your personal computer.

Whenever you look at the same site again, web browsers begin using these copies to load the page more quickly, instead of re-downloading the image all over again. This is known as caching.

This will make for faster page load times but could block up your hard disk drive with unneeded temporary files.

It is possible to get rid of these files together with browsing data like Internet History, Download History, Cookies along with other files to release hard drive space.

Solution #5: Close & Restart

Another easy fix- try restarting your browser. Whether you’re using Internet Explorer, Safari, Opera, Microsoft Edge, Chromium, Firefox, Chrome, or something else- this is another common solution if you’re experiencing SSL connection issues.

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If all else fails, and you’re confident the site you’re trying to access isn’t trying to destroy your world with a virus, ignore the warning and click through to the site anyway.

Solution #6: Restart Your Computer

Duh! This is the ultimate fix-all and might be worth exploring. Sometimes a fresh start can magically fix a technical glitch.

Android: Your Connection Is Not Private Error

According to the SSL Store, if this error occurs on your Android device, there are 5 possible fixes.

How to Fix “Your connection is not private” Error in Google Chrome On Your Android Phone

Solution #1: Correct Time & Date

Make sure you have the correct date and time set on your Android device.

To verify, go to Settings” and select “Date & Time.” And then activate the option for “automatic date & time.”

Solution #2. Reset your Android Device

This is an obvious fix-all that I’m sure you’ve probably considered- just reset your phone and see if that fixes it.

Solution #3. Disable Your Antivirus Temporarily

Try temporarily disabling any sort of security or antivirus application you’re running. Then try revisiting the webpage that was generating the error. Oftentimes, some android apps will interfere with your browser, causing the SSL connection to fail.

Solution #4. Switch Your WiFi Connection

Another possible fix is to switch up your WiFi connection. If you’re on a public wifi network, they can be incredibly insecure. Connect to a private WiFi network and check if this fixes the Android SSL error.

Solution #5. Purge Your Cache

You can also clear your Chrome browsing data. This is another popular catch-all fix, particularly if changing the date/time didn’t work.

To do so, open Chrome, press “Menu”, navigate to “Privacy”, select “Settings”, select “Clear Browsing Data.” Make sure you check all the boxes on the screen and then press “Clear.”

Mac: Your Connection Is Not Private Error

If you’re using Google Chrome on a Macintosh computer, this error can also occur. The page is prevented from loading unless you opt to ignore and then reload the ‘not private’ page’.

MAC OS Connection Issue Fix for Not Private Error

While many of the options we listed above also apply to Macs, OSXDaily provides some detailed instructions.

He found a fix by correcting the clock date. The fix listed there requires you to

  1. Quit Chrome
  2. Navigate to the Apple menu
  3. Select System Preferences
  4. Select Date & Time
  5. Beneath the Date & Time tab, select “Set date and time automatically” and make sure it’s checked, configured to your time zone’s appropriate location.
  6. Then try relaunching Chrome and revisiting the website with the SSL error and see if that works.

Tom’s Guide Solution

Over in the Toms Guide forum, a user submitted the following Chrome error message:

“Your Connection is not private. Attackers might be trying to steal your information from www.google.com (for example, passwords, messages, or credit cards). www.google.com normally uses encryption to protect your information. When Chrome tried to connect to www.google.com this time, the website sent back unusual and incorrect credentials. Either an attacker is trying to pretend to be www.google.com, or a Wi-Fi sign-in screen has interrupted the connection. Your information is still secure because Chrome stopped the connection before any data was exchanged. You cannot visit www.google.com right now because the website uses HSTS. Network errors and attacks are usually temporary, so this page will probably work later.”

The user further specified that other websites, besides Google, wouldn’t load and were giving him this error code: net::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID.

DNS Issues?

The best solution was provided by a user who suggested to manually use 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 for your DNS servers because they’re Google’s approved, good DNS servers.

Another user had the same problem and posted the following fix:

  1. Open network and sharing center
  2. On the left side- click on: “Change advanced sharing settings”.
  3. Click on home or work.
  4. Go through and check “turn off” for the first three questions.
  5. Activate password protection.

Capped By Your Provider

Another weird solution was provided by a user who said he had inadvertently exceeded his internet provider’s monthly limit.

This meant that he had to sign into his internet provider account, read their usage limits before they approved him to use the internet again.

An Avast Problem

Another Tom’s Guide poster said that Avast was causing the problem- specifically their Web Shield service. Turns out, it was monitoring https:// connections and generating errors for Google and YouTube. This user deactivated Web Shield, which fixed the problem.

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Another quirky solution was explained by a user who found that his banking website was generating this privacy connection error.

He usually accessed the site using a Chrome bookmark. Turns out, his bank had changed the login landing page and the old URL he was using was no longer secure.

The new sign-in screen was SSL compliant and had a valid certificate- problem solved!

Reddit Solutions

Over on Reddit, users flooded r/Chrome to discuss this error.

Getting “Your connection is not private” error in Chrome from r/chrome

1. The first solution that was proposed was a common one- a user said that https won’t function if the time on your personal computer is wrong.

2. Another user proposed verifying that an extension hasn’t replaced Google Certifications. Press Ctrl – Shift – I and then click “View Cert” to see whether the Google certification is correct.

According to this Reddit user, you’ll want to check if it was issued by Google Internet Authority G2.3.

A Raspberry PI user experienced the error and said that, even though no ports were publicly open, he wiped and reloaded it. That seemed to fix it

4. Another user contextualized the certification issue, saying that if you’re receiving this error on www.google.com, your certificate has not been issued by Google.

He explained that sometimes an employer will legitimately inject a man in the middle attack. If you’re not on a work computer or system, it could be a different problem.

It could be that something is injecting itself into your traffic. He advises to verify the certificate- if it’s not an employer doing it, it could be malicious activity.

5. Another Chrome user posted that he was undergoing a man in the middle attack. What was happening was that his Wifi login screen generated the error message- and he couldn’t access it.

The top solution was to try accessing an http version of the login page to bypass the private connection error.

Summary

There are a lot of fixes here. Usually, the error is pretty easy to fix and is often site-specific.

So it’s not usually an error on the browser’s end.

From our research, we found that the most common sites for this error, are: Netflix, Reddit, Amazon, YouTube, Google, Craigslist, & Gmail.

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