Websites aim to identify users on every visit, and browser fingerprinting has become one of the most effective methods to achieve this. With an accuracy rate of 95-99%, these techniques are both highly reliable. A 2021 study revealed that 10% of top-ranked websites employ browser fingerprinting to track users.
In this guide, we will explore the concept of browser fingerprinting, how it works, and why it is so widespread. We shall also discuss if there is a way to ensure your online privacy despite this prevalent and effective internet tracking method.
What Is Browser Fingerprinting
Browser fingerprinting is a term that describes methods or internet tracking techniques used to obtain information about an internet user from their web browser. You are well aware of the fact that everything you lay your hands on has your fingerprint on it. Similarly, every website you visit can get your browser fingerprint, if they want to. There is little you can do to stop it.
The public knowledge of the privacy-intrusive use of cookies made websites seek other ways to achieve their aims without interference. On the Internet today, you can choose to accept or reject cookies. When you reject cookies, the web page can still operate well.
However, websites will no longer possess the ability to track and identify you.
History and Evolution
Web browser fingerprinting techniques have been in existence since the late 1990s. They were basic and primarily used to differentiate and measure real human web traffic from various forms of click fraud.
In the decade that followed, the technique was greatly improved. Researchers showed how they could obtain a hardware fingerprint of a remote device via timestamps on data requests made by the device. The Electronic Frontier Foundation launched a website in 2010 that enabled users to check their browser fingerprints.
In 2012,
Researchers discovered canvas fingerprinting. This is a kind of browser fingerprinting that utilizes the HTML5 canvas element of web pages. This element is an integral part of web pages; so, it is quite difficult to block this form of fingerprinting. This made the browser fingerprinting technique quite popular.
In 2021,
A set of newer techniques were they discovered by researchers. They found these techniques are used in concert with the known fingerprinting techniques to track users effectively. Browser fingerprinting seems unstoppable.
One of the things fueling the rapid development and widespread use of browser fingerprinting is the ease of its deployment and use. It requires fewer resources to deploy on websites. It also makes use of existing features of web pages and the internet.
All browser fingerprinting techniques use a core part of web pages to generate a unique identifier.
What kind of information is contained in a browser fingerprint?
A browser fingerprint is derived from specific characteristics of the user’s browser and device. Some of these characteristics include the following:
- the device model
- its operating system
- its browser version
- the time zone
- preferred language settings of the user
- the plug-ins installed
- screen resolution
- audio and video capabilities
- the fonts installed on the device
Why Websites use Browser Fingerprinting
1. To detect and stop fraud and identity theft
Banks use browser fingerprinting to detect and stop fraud. Bank security flags a customer account when they discover login attempts from multiple devices or different locations. They do it within seconds by analyzing the customer’s browser fingerprint.
Sometimes, malicious agents might try to hack a legitimate user account on a website to make a purchase or commit crimes. Websites can detect such activity and prevent it by putting up additional security with browser fingerprinting.
2. To prevent Botnets and DDoS attacks.
Botnets are large groups of robot computers linked by malware and they are used to conduct large-scale cyber crimes such as crashing websites or web servers. They flood the servers with data requests till they can’t handle them. This kind of attack on web servers is called a DDoS attack (DDoS means Distributed Denial of Service).
When a website is under a DDoS attack, regular users are unable to access it. To prevent these attacks, websites use browser fingerprinting techniques to identify the characteristics of botnets and block their access to the website.
3. To serve users personalized content
Accenture reports that 91 percent of customers are more likely to shop at stores that provide relevant recommendations. To remain on top of their game, e-commerce brands and content providers such as Netflix, Amazon, and Spotify use browser fingerprinting techniques.
Tracking site visitors allows content providers and e-commerce sites to serve them the content they want. Every time a user visits, they collect data to personalize the user’s experience.
The information gathered must be linked to the identity of each person who visits. Browser fingerprinting techniques are efficient methods to achieve this; and, they also seem less intrusive than the cookie tracking system.
4. To enable targeted advertising and dynamic pricing
Advances in web tracking, like browser fingerprinting, have revolutionized online advertising and e-commerce. Unlike cookies, which can be blocked and raise privacy concerns, browser fingerprinting provides advertisers with precise data such as location and browsing history. This enables targeted ads tailored to individual preferences, improving ROI for advertisers.
E-commerce platforms leverage this technology for dynamic pricing, adjusting costs based on factors like user location. For instance, users in affluent areas may see higher prices for products, airline tickets, or subscription services. This approach maximizes revenue by personalizing both ads and pricing strategies.
With more data, advertisers can refine their targeting, ensuring ads are relevant and effective. While this increases revenue, it also raises significant privacy and fairness concerns, particularly as users often remain unaware of the extent of data being collected and its impact on their online experiences.
How Does Browser Fingerprinting Work?
No two human beings have the same fingerprints, and even identical twins are no exception. Device fingerprinting takes inspiration from this concept but applies it to digital devices. Unlike human fingerprints, creating a unique fingerprint for digital devices is more complex due to the uniformity in hardware and software design.
However, slight variations in devices and advancements in technology have enabled the creation of digital fingerprints that are unique and effective for tracking purposes.
Browser fingerprinting leverages the technology behind how web pages are written and rendered. Modern web pages are built with scripts—primarily in JavaScript—that automate various functions. For instance, an interactive navigation bar is driven by a chunk of JavaScript code.
These scripts can collect a wide range of data about a user’s browser and device, including screen resolution, operating system, and browser type. When combined, this data forms a unique “digital fingerprint” for each user.
The Mechanics of Browser Fingerprinting
Browser fingerprinting is typically performed by scripts running in the background of web pages, often without the user’s knowledge or consent. These scripts are either executed automatically or triggered by user interactions.
The collected data is processed into a unique hash code using a hashing function, which condenses the information into a standardized value while preserving its uniqueness. These hash codes are stored in large databases by websites.
Each time a user visits a website, a new hash code is generated and compared to the existing database. If a match is found, the website recognizes the returning user. For first-time users, their fingerprint is added to the database, enabling future identification.
Techniques and Tools for Fingerprinting
The most common method of browser fingerprinting is JavaScript-based fingerprinting. However, additional techniques like FLASH and HTTP fingerprinting are also used. FLASH, for instance, identifies installed fonts on a user’s device, while HTTP headers provide information such as browser type and accepted content types.
Open-source libraries like FingerprintJS, ImprintJS, and ClientJS simplify browser fingerprinting. Among these, FingerprintJS is the most advanced, offering more comprehensive and updated functionalities compared to its counterparts.
By combining these methods and tools, browser fingerprinting has become a highly effective way for websites to identify and track users, often with little visibility or control on the user’s end.
How Many Browser Fingerprinting Techniques Are There?
A lot of data can be mined from a web browser. Different browser fingerprinting techniques are created based on each or a group of these data. Below, we discussed the top four browser fingerprinting techniques used in many websites on the internet today.
These fingerprinting techniques are often used together. More than two techniques are used at the same time to generate an accurate fingerprint for each user.
Each technique will collect different data and thus enable the website to determine higher levels of uniqueness required to accurately identify a user.
Canvas Fingerprinting
HTML5 has a canvas API that web designers use to draw graphics on web pages. There are variations in how this canvas element is rendered on different web browsers and devices. Canvas fingerprinting exploits these differences to create a unique digital fingerprint for the user of the web browser and device.
Canvas fingerprinting is the most popular form of browser fingerprinting. It was reported that more than 5% of the websites in existence today use this technique to track users. This is because the fingerprinting technique is easy to deploy and difficult to block. Blocking it may make the web page inaccessible.
WebGL Fingerprinting
WebGL fingerprinting is also called rendering fingerprinting because it exploits the differences that occur in the rendering of certain web elements on different browsers and devices.
This technique is similar to canvas fingerprinting as it forces web browsers to render images and text elements. When the images are rendered by the browser, it collects data about the device’s graphics drivers, and screen resolution to create a fingerprint.
Audio Fingerprinting
This technique is similar to canvas and WebGL fingerprinting because it creates the fingerprint from data it gets when the web browser is forced to render certain web elements. However, audio fingerprinting techniques require your browser to play sound and infer information about the device when the sound is played.
The sound played is usually low frequency and may not require the user’s permission. The way your computer process the audio signal is measured to create a fingerprint. This fingerprint is based on information about your device’s audio drivers, sound hardware, and software.
Media Device Fingerprinting
This fingerprinting technique uses information from all the media devices connected to your device to create a unique identifier for you. Internal media components like audio cards, video cards, and linked devices like headphones are part of the information gathered.
Media fingerprinting is seldom used because it requires the user to grant permission to access their device’s microphone or camera. It is used only when the web service requires a compulsory use of the user’s microphone or webcam.
How do you Enhance Your Online Privacy
Trying to stop browser fingerprinting can feel like trying to trap air. Despite this, you can ensure your privacy online if you have access to the right tools and techniques.
You can delete cookies because they are stored on your phone. You can also choose to reject them or use browser extensions that block them when you surf the internet. All of these are not possible with browser fingerprinting.
First, it is quite invisible and you are not always aware of its presence. Second, browser fingerprints are not stored on your phone. Also, you can’t access where they are stored to delete yours.
Stopping browser fingerprinting requires some extreme methods which might affect your browsing experience. The web tracking method utilizes core parts of the internet experience. Nonetheless, if you’re a privacy-minded person, here are a few ways you can enhance your privacy online.
Disable JavaScript
Most browsing fingerprinting techniques rely on JavaScript. Disabling JavaScript on your browser cuts the limbs of these tracking techniques; however, this comes at a great cost.
Disabling JavaScript on your web browser would impact your browsing experience. Many web pages depend on JavaScript to run properly. So, in a bid to enhance your privacy, you might find yourself unable to access desired web pages.
Use common browsers and a few extensions
Using a common browser is a softer approach compared to disabling JavaScript. The logic behind this tip is that a common browser makes your fingerprint less unique. Cue trying to identify yourself in a photograph when all of you in the photo wore the same dress.
Certain browser extensions offer protection from browser fingerprinting. Yet it is preferable to follow the age-long security tactic to have fewer extensions and plug-ins installed on your web browser.
This practice improves the overall security of your device and limits the amount of information that can be extracted to create a browser fingerprint.
Use anti-detect browsers
Research shows that many anti-fingerprinting techniques are not as useful as we think they are. Your best bet remains to use browsers that ensure privacy and limit tracking.
Anti-detect browsers like Incogniton are built with capabilities to mitigate most forms of internet tracking systems. With Incogniton, you can operate different browsing profiles with unique browser fingerprints.
Each of these browser fingerprints is modified by adding noise to them and will remain the same every time you use the profile. What happens is that browser fingerprinting websites keep tracking the wrong person.
Conclusion
So far, we explored the concept of browser fingerprinting, why it is used, and how you can enhance your online privacy despite the perpetuity of browser fingerprinting techniques.
Browsing fingerprinting techniques have continued to evolve. As mentioned earlier, researchers have uncovered newer techniques that are now used with older techniques to identify and track users. This trend is expected to continue as our use of the internet gets more sophisticated.
We cannot stop browsing fingerprinting or web tracking systems. What we can do is ensure our online privacy by being conscious of the kind of data we put out. We can also try to use tools that will help us ensure privacy and limit tracking.
FAQs
Is Browser Fingerprinting Legal?
Yes, it is legal in many areas of the world. Though there are regulations specific to web tracking systems, there hasn’t been one that addresses browser fingerprinting.
The EU’s ePrivacy Regulation mentions device fingerprinting explicitly. However, this law is yet to be adopted. On the other hand, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has regulations that cover cookie-based tracking and other tracking systems.
These systems are legal if the rules guiding their usage are followed. The regulation stipulates that the consent of the user must be sought before they are deployed.
Can you avoid browser fingerprinting?
It is almost impossible to avoid browser fingerprinting. This is because the techniques are based on integral parts of web pages For example, canvas fingerprinting uses HTML5 canvas to generate data to create a fingerprint.
Disabling the canvas element makes it impossible to draw graphics on the web page. This will result in less interactive websites and poor user experiences.
What Is Cross-Browser Fingerprinting?
Cross-browser fingerprinting occurs when a unique fingerprint can be generated regardless of the browser used. This kind of fingerprinting technique utilizes just hardware properties to create a browser fingerprint.
Researchers have demonstrated that an accurate fingerprint can be generated with data on the type of operating system and hardware level features of a device.
How similar is cookie tracking to browser fingerprinting?
Both are web tracking systems with great differences in how they operate. Browser fingerprinting is more sophisticated as it operates without the user’s consent or knowledge.
Cookies are stored on the user’s device while browser fingerprints are stored independently of the user’s device. Thus, they cannot be deleted by the user like cookies.
How can I check my browser fingerprint?
There are websites dedicated to helping you check how unique your browser fingerprint is online. They offer a breakdown of the kind of data contained in your fingerprint alongside a score of the browser fingerprint’s uniqueness. Some of the top options include IPHey.com, FingerprintJS, CreepJS, BrowserScan.net, and so on.
Can Incognito Mode or Private Browsing prevent browser fingerprinting?
Ideally, incognito mode and private browsing of popular browsers should help maintain a high level of privacy. However, they fall short when it comes to browser fingerprinting. Using these features makes the browser fingerprint more unique to the user.
Can you prevent browser fingerprinting by using multiple browsers?
Yes. Different browsers on the same device should have different fingerprints. In scenarios when both browsers are poorly protected against fingerprinting, the two fingerprints could be identified as originating from the same device. Websites with cross-browser fingerprinting capabilities can achieve that.
Can VPN stop browser fingerprinting?
No. VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and it is a common privacy tool. It cannot prevent browser fingerprinting because it only hides your IP address and encrypts your internet traffic.
IP addresses are important parts of your fingerprint. Browser fingerprints are generated with data from your web browser and device. VPNs have no influence whatsoever on those things.
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