Chrome
has introduced a new experimental feature in its Canary version that promises to boost your online privacy. Called '
IP Protection
', this optional setting masks the IP address from suspected trackers as you browse the web while signed into Chrome.
What is IP Protection feature in Chrome
In simple terms, the IP Protection feature masks your IP address.
Once enabled, Chrome will route some of your website requests through anonymous privacy servers instead of directly connecting you. This hides your real IP address, making it harder for companies to monitor your browsing habits and build detailed profiles about your interests.
Advertisers
and
marketers
often use tactics like tracking pixels and cookies to follow your web activity across multiple sites. The data gathered helps them target you with creepily relevant ads and offers. IP Protection aims to cut off this snooping by hiding your digital footsteps as you hop from site to site.
While not a catch-all solution, routing your traffic through middleman servers will severely restrict the tracking abilities of advertisers, social networks like Facebook, and data brokers. You can browse more freely without every click being logged to fuel targeted advertising.
However, it's worth noting IP Protection is still experimental and has limitations:
- It likely won't completely anonymize you, especially for geo-restricted content.
- Adding extra stops may slow down your browsing slightly.
- The full details are still unclear, like which sites it works on.
- The privacy servers are operated by unknown entities.
So treat it as a helpful extra layer of protection rather than a cloaking device. Combine it with Chrome's Incognito Mode, cookie clearing, and privacy extensions for maximum safety. While not perfect, this is a significant step by Google towards guarding its users from excessive tracking.
English (US) ·