302 Found means the target resource temporarily resides under a different URL, given in the Location header. Because the move is temporary, clients should keep using the original URL for future requests.
A 302 is not cacheable by default; it is only reused when Cache-Control or Expires explicitly allow it. That makes it a safe choice for redirects that depend on the visitor's situation, such as sending anonymous users to a login page.
As with 301, user agents may change a POST into a GET when they follow a 302, and browsers do. HTTP/1.0 did not intend this, which is why HTTP/1.1 added 303 See Other, which always switches to GET, and 307 Temporary Redirect, which never changes the method. Many frameworks still use 302 as their default redirect.
Example response
HTTP/1.1 302 Found
Date: Fri, 06 Nov 2026 10:15:32 GMT
Location: https://www.example.com/login?next=%2Faccount
Cache-Control: no-store
Content-Length: 0SEO and redirect checking
Google treats a 302 as a weak signal that the target should be canonical, so it normally keeps the original URL in its index and in search results. That is correct for genuinely temporary situations such as a short promotion, maintenance or an A/B test. A 302 that stays in place for a long time may eventually be treated like a permanent redirect, but do not rely on that: use 301 or 308 for permanent moves.
A common SEO bug is a site-wide HTTP-to-HTTPS or domain redirect that was accidentally configured as 302. The Redirect Chain Checker and the 301 Redirect Checker flag temporary hops so you can spot them.
Common causes and use cases
- A login wall sends anonymous visitors to
/login?next=.... - Language, country or device detection sends visitors to a localized or mobile version. Compare what phones and desktops get with the Mobile vs Desktop Redirect tool.
- Click-tracking and affiliate links use 302 so that every click passes through the tracker. Expand them with the Short URL Expander.
- A permanent move was configured as 302 by mistake, for example Apache's
Redirectdirective without a status, or a framework'sredirect()helper, which defaults to 302 in many frameworks. Switch it to 301 or 308.