Google has begun implementing the IP Protection feature in its web browser to conceal users’ IP addresses from website owners. This feature acts as a built-in anonymizer, primarily aimed at preventing tracking but also useful for bypassing website blocks and communication operator restrictions.
The technical implementation of this feature involves redirecting traffic through a proxy server instead of sending it directly to the target server. The target server only sees the IP address of the proxy server, similar to using a VPN. The request is anonymized by sequentially passing it through multiple proxies. This means that only the first proxy knows the client’s IP address, while the second proxy in the chain sees only the address of the first proxy.
Google plans to test the IP address protection feature with a small percentage of users in future Chrome releases (from 119 to 125). Initially, only one proxy server owned by Google will be used in the testing, and the feature will only be enabled for specific domains and advertising networks controlled by Google. This initial stage will be limited to users with IP addresses from the United States and will cover up to 33% of Chrome experimental issues users.
In the second testing phase, Google plans to implement a two-level proxy configuration. The browser will first connect to a Google-owned proxy through an encrypted tunnel, and then from that proxy to a second proxy owned by a company not affiliated with Google. By tunneling the traffic in this way, the first proxy will not have access to the request parameters or the target host, while the second proxy will be able to determine the target host but not the user’s IP address. This setup prevents the proxy server from being able to link the user with the requested site.
To prevent abuse, access to the first Google-controlled proxy will be restricted using a cryptographic token generated by Google’s authentication server during the user’s login process. Without authentication, access to the proxy will be blocked. Traffic restrictions will also be tied to the token, making it challenging to misuse the proxy servers for malicious purposes. The traffic will be directed to the proxy using specific methods.