Google is set to test a new feature in its Chrome browser, allowing users to hide their IP addresses by using proxy servers. This will be an opt-in feature, similar to Apple’s ‘Ask App Not to Track’.
IP addresses, like cookies, can be used to track online activity and create persistent user profiles, so this feature is designed to protect user privacy. Other browsers like Firefox and Safari already have some form of IP address protection in place, but Chrome’s dominance of the market means this move will have a significant impact, especially on marketing.
Aaron Grote, VP of digital products at data-driven agency Stirista, believes that Google is going further than other big players to protect user privacy. He also notes that regulators are not viewing this kind of work as anti-competitive.
Grote emphasises that the move is not just from Apple or niche browsers, but will be rolled out to Chrome. This means marketers will need to find alternatives to cookie-based identity resolution. Account-based marketing, which has relied heavily on IP addresses to track user intent, will also be disrupted.
Chris Golec, founder of Channel99 (and formerly CEO of Demandbase) sees virtue in a limited use of IP protection. He believes it will be useful for tackling bad actors, but could also impair personalisation, targeted ads, and other useful functionality offered by ABM providers.
Marketers are being forced to choose between patching together personalisation techniques using a range of solutions, or abandoning it entirely in favour of a more contextual approach. Google’s IP address protection initiative is another challenge for businesses to contend with.
Originally reported by Martech: https://martech.org/chromes-ip-address-protection-initiative-presents-new-challenges-for-marketers/
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