Google is strengthening its protection measures against advertising targeting by integrating a service into its Chrome browser that allows the device’s IP address to be hidden without using a VPN. But under certain conditions…
We know that we are tracked from all sides when we browse the Web – even if we don’t realize to what extent. We can always try to only accept essential cookies, switch to private browsing and delete our history, nothing helps. Impossible to surf incognito because of our IP address. Indeed, like a geographical address, this series of numbers makes it possible to identify in a few seconds the location from which the Internet connection is made (see our article). And if it is sometimes essential to identify us with certain services – video streaming platforms, for example – it is also widely used by companies who track our every move to draw up our user profile and send us advertisements. targeted. The only way to prevent them is to use a VPN or proxy, which will act as an intermediary between us and the websites, and thus pass off our IP address as another. But not everyone thinks about it and knows how to do it, far from it!
Google – which is nevertheless the king of advertising tracking – is striving to take greater account of confidentiality and privacy requirements. As reported Bleeping Computer, the company is currently working on an IP address masking feature for its Chrome browser. Called IP Protection, it natively prevents sites from tracking users, without having to go through a third-party proxy or VPN. Practical !
IP protection: a proxy server integrated into Chrome
The “IP Protection” function will hide the IP address in order to prevent Internet users from being tracked. Please note that Google cannot simply block the IP address, as it is necessary to use certain websites, which need this data to correctly route traffic or prevent online fraud. This is the case for streaming services or banks for example. This is why it is best to use proxies: advertisers and all web services that track Internet users will obtain the IP address of the proxy server, which will intercept the user’s requests before they ‘reach the destination server. For example, the visited site will still be able to retrieve the user’s location, but much more approximate, such as the region instead of the city.
The service will not work for all visited sites. Google will create a list of domains for which the Internet user’s IP address will be hidden – this will be enriched little by little. Furthermore, this masking will only take place when the domains included in the list have the possibility of tracking the Internet user on websites other than their own. The protection offered by the new tool is therefore not comparable to that of a VPN, but it is still better than nothing.
IP protection: risks for cybersecurity
Google is, however, aware that such a tool can be abused by malicious people. Because traffic is routed through Google’s servers, it can be difficult for security and fraud protection services to block denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks or detect invalid traffic, since the device that relays the connection is camouflaged. Additionally, if one of Google’s proxy servers is compromised, the threat actor can view and manipulate the traffic passing through it. Also, to avoid any problems, the Internet giant plans to require user authentication with the proxy server and limit the number of requests authorized in a certain period of time.
The IP Protection function is currently in the testing phase, and its deployment will be carried out in successive phases. It will be tested between versions 119 and 125 of Chrome. Only users logged into their Google account, with an IP address based in the United States and who have voluntarily activated the function will have access to it initially, and only for traffic to Google domains. In short, it’s not for now!