What are you trying to accomplish
We want to copy/paste from Google Docs into a text editor in Builder.io for blog content, but we noticed that all the links are automatically getting rel=“noopener noreferrer” and target=“_blank”.
^^ We don’t want this to happen because most of our links are internal. How can we stop this from happening?
Screenshots or video link
Loom video: https://www.loom.com/share/a956cd04b6224ec0baa9a8d342d62d0e
Any updates on this?
This usually isn’t caused by Google Docs itself. When you paste content into Builder.io’s rich text editor, the editor often applies its own link security defaults.
Many modern editors automatically add:
target="_blank" → forces the link to open in a new tab
rel="noopener noreferrer" → prevents security risks when opening external links in a new tab
These attributes are commonly added to protect against a vulnerability called reverse tabnabbing, which can happen when external pages access the original window.
If most of your links are internal, you have a few options:
1. Adjust Builder.io editor settings
Check whether Builder.io allows configuring default link behavior. Some editors have settings that disable automatic target="_blank" or allow removing rel attributes for internal URLs.
2. Use a cleanup script after pasting
If the editor allows custom scripts or hooks, you can automatically remove these attributes from internal links. Example logic:
Detect links that start with your domain
Remove target="_blank" and rel="noopener noreferrer"
3. Paste as plain text
Sometimes using Paste without formatting (Ctrl + Shift + V) prevents extra attributes from being added.
4. Manual cleanup
If the editor stores HTML, you can remove the attributes during your content processing step before publishing.
In general, these attributes are useful for external links, but for internal links they’re usually unnecessary, so adjusting the editor configuration or running a cleanup step is the best approach.