Increasingly, Google is deploying strategies to wash its hands of privacy, but the reality is that it is using a form of dishonest advertising, designed to deceive users and create the impression that Their products ensure privacy safety.

Before IP Protection, there was Chrome's "enhanced privacy ads" feature, another tool designed to trap you in Google's surveillance to the exclusion of competitors.
Likewise, the idea behind IP Protection is identical in character. It keeps your computer's IP address from being revealed when visiting websites, but at the same time, all your web traffic data is routed through Google-owned servers. This gives Google a comprehensive view of every website you visit, whether you're signed in to a Google Account or not. The IP Protection feature, in its current version, does not provide any privacy benefits and we strongly recommend that it not be enabled.
Why does Google do this?

Google's main competitive advantage lies in its highly accurate advertising strategy, accounting for 80% of its huge total revenue of $224 billion, coming from targeted advertising campaigns. However, the value of these campaigns can only be achieved when Google learns about all your interests through your search and browsing activities.
Chrome, as the world's most popular browser, has become the window that opens billions of people to the world of Google, especially when combined with data sources like Google Search or Google Maps. If you're signed in to a Google Account, for example to access Gmail, the company has the ability to link any of your searches to your personal account. Google has many ways to track you, even when you're in incognito mode.
This makes IP Protection a sham. During the early stages of development, Google Chrome used a private proxy server to create a temporary IP address, masking your real IP address from websites that Google owns. To activate IP Protection during this period, you must actively participate.
In the future, Google plans to add a second proxy server operated by another company, called "Second Hop". This server only sees the temporary IP address from the first server and the website you are visiting. Although the company is said to be independent, Google can choose its vendors and determine their policies.
However, the two-step system may just be a privacy cloud, because Google still has other ways to track you. From your search history, Google Analytics, Chrome browsing history, advertising cookies, to mobile location, inbox, and personal calendar, Google reserves the right to track you through a variety of means. . IP protection is really just a small part of Google's efforts to both clean up privacy and build a tight wall of protection.
What can you do instead of IP Protection?
To keep your browsing secure and comply with IP Protection requirements, you can use a privacy-enhancing browser with a VPN service. This approach helps protect your personal information from tracking and also fulfills IP Protection requirements.
It can be seen that one of Google's goals with IP Protection is to prevent users from using independent VPN services. This makes sense especially since high-quality VPN services often integrate ad and tracking blocking technology, like NetShield in Rice VPN. But combining both a privacy-preserving browser and a VPN is still a powerful way to maintain anonymity and control over your personal data while accessing the internet.
Use private browsing
Google Chrome has faced a lot of criticism regarding privacy issues, however, there are alternatives that respect your privacy. While Chrome integrates data collection about your online activities, browsers like Firefox do not. If you care about protecting your privacy and want to take advantage of improvements in this area, switching from Google Chrome to other browsers is a wise decision.
Use a real VPN
While Google IP Protection can track your browsing activity, a trustworthy VPN will never do this. A VPN creates an encrypted tunnel between your device and the Internet, hiding your browsing data from the local network and also protecting your IP address from the websites you visit.
VPN Rice, with its independently tested strict no-logs policy, is an attractive option. In contrast to Google, VPN Rice is not only based in Cyprus, where legal protections apply, but also protects you from ads, tracking, and malware through an ad blocker. NetShield - a feature that Google cannot provide.
Most importantly, VPN Rice focuses on a business model of providing a privacy-first service to its payers, which is completely different from Google's model. Therefore, Rice VPN's financial motivation is to protect users from online tracking, while Google tends to promote the opposite.
To better understand VPN Rice's security features, you can find detailed information here.
Instead of accepting IP Protection and Google's privacy-washing features, you have the option to opt for a more secure and private internet through the use of a VPN.