Separate but very much related. While HTTP/2 can work with HTTP most browsers DON’T support it in that method and only support HTTP/2 while using HTTPS.
“Although the standard itself does not require usage of encryption,[28] all major client implementations (Firefox,[29] Chrome, Safari, Opera, IE, Edge) have stated that they will only support HTTP/2 over TLS, which makes encryption de facto mandatory.” - HTTP/2 - Wikipedia
“Does HTTP/2 require encryption?…However, some implementations have stated that they will only support HTTP/2 when it is used over an encrypted connection, and currently no browser supports HTTP/2 unencrypted” - HTTP/2 Frequently Asked Questions
“With just a simple change to the server configuration, the website performs noticeably better over HTTP/2 than HTTP/1.1. The page load time dropped by over 13% thanks to fewer TCP connections, resulting in a lower time to first byte” - 2018 – Pingdom Year in Review - Pingdom
That’s a great question and one I see from many people. It’s just a flash light forum, or it’s just a personal blog, or it’s just a website about turtles… who cares.
So while some people would like for you to believe it’s very uncommon for anyone to be snooping data connections. This is absolutely the case. In fact many people do so at public wifi spots, many companies security devices do just that, all potentially leaking your username and password.
Even though some here in this thread have said SSL is no big deal… not one of them has posted their password.
Leaking of passwords is bad for obvious reasons. One of which is while some here are using password managers (kudo’s by the way!!) many people don’t and many re-use passwords. So while you’re connected to the internet and someone is snooping over that traffic (and they do, believe it or not) then that password gets out. So while it may be a flashlight forum password, for some it might just be their ebay, amazon, and bank password too.
Password sniffing is just the start of it. Without SSL, it’s much easier to intercept your web traffic and inject malicious code such as malware or cryptominer software or redirect it to another page entirely.
Troy Hunt: Here's Why Your Static Website Needs HTTPS
Pourquoi le protocole HTTPS est-il important ? | Articles | web.dev
SSL isn’t a silver bullet that will fix ever security issue, no one has said that. It’s about layers. Just like your house, you don’t just put up a door and call it a day. You probably install a lock too don’t you? You probably even lock that lock right? I’m willing to bet you might even have a flashlight near by so when there is a noise in the night you can make light day and see what’s going on?
Layers.
The same goes for websites. SSL adds very little to a server load and if done correctly (like HTTP/2) then it can actually greatly improve the site performance. The owner could also use a free service like Cloudflare to provide the HTTPS (zero impact on the server at that point) and allows for even more features such as content delivery network, DDoS protection and more. Again all for FREE.