Google Chrome will test the new IP protection feature. This is a successor to the Gnatcatcher privacy feature.

There will be a new feature to protect your privacy in Google Chrome: IP Protection. As the name suggests, it is a system to better protect your IP address.

Be continued

Google understands that an IP address still poses a risk for tracking someone online. It is still quite easy to build a profile of the user based on the online activities of such an address. It is then possible to follow someone online.

In addition, IP addresses are also necessary for forwarding online traffic. They are also useful in combating internet fraud and providing information for the operations of operators and networks. Protecting an IP address is therefore a combination of data protection and maintaining sufficient functionality.

Intermediate steps

This system focuses on the ability to track IP addresses along websites. The initial focus is primarily on third parties who have been identified as potential trackers. Google Chrome uses existing lists for this and also wants to use identification methods that other browsers already use.

With IP protection, websites do not see a surfer’s original IP address. This is done via a proxy server.

Google is rolling out this new feature in phases. The first step is Phase 0 and is limited to domains controlled by the company itself. This way the impact can be tested without affecting other companies. In addition, only IP addresses registered in the USA are allowed to access the proxy servers. A very small percentage participate automatically.

Privacy and security are in recent weeks hot topics on Chrome. For example, the browser also stepped up its fight against phishing last month. Chrome was also the first major browser to release a patch against malicious code in WebP files that hackers used to attack memory.