How Websites Use Fingerprint Web Identifiers

Fingerprint web uses cutting-edge identification methods to create unique device identifiers for web visitors. These digital fingerprints combine more than 70 individual signals from your hardware, software and browser configuration. They’re far more reliable than cookies, which can be volatile if you change your settings or clear your browser data.

Websites use fingerprinting for a wide range of purposes, including analytics and ad tracking. They can also be used to identify and mitigate fraud, such as account creation fraud. This is a common technique in online banking to verify the legitimacy of transactions.

Fingerprint Web Technology: What It Is and How It’s Used

The most important signals used to create a fingerprint include the device’s graphics hardware, screen resolution, operating system and version. Other signals such as installed fonts, plugins and versions, and screen colour depth help to add to the fingerprint’s uniqueness. Other unique features like time zone and language settings, along with network information such as IP address and DNS can be used to further refine the fingerprint.

While it’s impossible to fully stop all forms of fingerprinting, there are a number of ways to limit its impact. One way is to use a privacy-focused browser, such as Firefox or Brave, which reduces the amount of plugins and other browser data being sent to sites. Another is to use a VPN or proxy service that masks your real network environment, which can make it more difficult for websites to collect your unique fingerprint. In addition to these privacy techniques, you can try to avoid using custom user agents. The more unique your user agent is, the higher the likelihood of your fingerprint being identifiable.