This new Chrome feature may protect your privacy in a big way

Date:
Mon, 23 Oct 2023 11:21:42 +0000

Description:
Google Chrome isnt known for its privacy chops, but an upcoming feature could help change that.

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Google is preparing an IP Protection feature in Chrome that could make one of the best web browsers even better than it already is. The addition could
offer a major security boost to potentially millions of users sick of having their privacy invaded.

How will it work? Well, the IP Protection tool will route your traffic
through a proxy server owned by Google. This would help to obfuscate your IP address, making you much harder to track as you browse the internet. In the future, Google is considering directing your traffic through two proxies, which would further obscure your IP address.

Thats important because your IP address provides a unique identifier that can be tracked across the web. That allows companies and data brokers to build a profile of you based on the websites you visit, which could then be used to target and track you further. Thats bad for your privacy , and its something Chromes IP Protection will attempt to combat.

IP Protection will be opt-in at first, and will roll out in stages for a limited number of websites as Google analyses its progress and effectiveness, Google says . Theres no word yet on when it will begin testing, so keep your eyes peeled if youre interested. Not a privacy panacea (Image credit: Shutterstock / XanderSt)

Google has warned that IP Protection is not a privacy cure-all, and that
there could even be security implications to using its new feature. For example, if one of Googles proxy servers gets hacked, the intruder could potentially see all traffic passing through the server and manipulate or redirect it. Routing your IP address through two proxies might help by ensuring neither server sees both your IP and the destination URL, but it probably wouldnt be a foolproof solution.

As well as that, as Googles proxies hide traffic origins by design, they
could be abused to disguise the origins of a DDoS attack or other fraudulent activities. Google might require users to authenticate with the proxy to prevent this, or introduce rate limits to hamper DDoS misuse.

Regardless, the introduction of IP Protection is an interesting move, as much of Googles business model relies on tracking users and serving them adverts. Given Googles questionable history of privacy and security violations , there will likely be many users who will be skeptical of the companys intentions here.

But if IP Protection is able to genuinely protect peoples privacy, it could
go some way to improving Googles image when it comes to safeguarding users private data. Lets hope it works as intended. You might also like Google Chrome teases full tracking protection tool to keep users protected Is Google Chrome violating your privacy? Scary new notification spooks users - heres what you can do Best web browser of 2023



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/chrome/this-new-chrome-feature-may-protect -your-privacy-in-a-big-way


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