What is Browser Fingerprinting? 10 Common Types You Need to Know

With the popularization of the Internet, the problem of privacy leakage has become increasingly prominent. While users enjoy the convenience brought by the Internet, they often face the fact that their personal information is being collected and used quietly.

As an emerging user identity identification symbol, browser fingerprints are becoming an important source of privacy leakage. This article will explore in depth the types to help you better understand browser fingerprints and master methods to deal with privacy issues.

What is Browser Fingerprint?

When users browse the web and interact with various websites, the browser will leave a series of unique information which mainly includes the operating system, the specific version of the browser, the language set by the browser, etc.

When these seemingly ordinary details are collected and integrated one by one, they form a unique online identity of the user--the browser fingerprint. This uniqueness makes browser fingerprints a powerful identification tool. Even among billions of Internet users, websites can accurately identify users through browser fingerprints.

To further understand the concept of browser fingerprint, it is important to distinguish it from other easily confused terms such as device fingerprint and cookie.

Browser Fingerprint vs. Device Fingerprint

Browser fingerprint focuses on the configuration and behavior characteristics of the browser. Even if the same device uses different browsers, its browser fingerprint will be different.

Device fingerprint focuses on identifying the characteristics of hardware devices, such as device model, operating system version, hardware serial number, etc. It pays more attention to the properties of the device itself rather than the configuration of the browser.

Browser Fingerprint vs. Cookie

Cookies are small text files that need to be stored on the user's device. Websites use them to identify users and save information such as user preferences. They need to be actively set by the website and stored on the user's device, and users can clear them.

Browser fingerprints don't need to store any information on the user's device. They identify users by detecting multiple attributes of the browser in real time, making them more difficult for users to detect and clear. Even if users clear all cookies, websites can still identify users through browser fingerprint detection technology.

The Roles of Browser Fingerprints

Positive Roles

• Enhanced network security: Browser fingerprints can be used to identify abnormal login behavior and prevent malicious attacks. Websites can detect user browser fingerprints to determine whether the login request comes from a known device, thereby improving account security.

• Optimize user experience: The website can automatically adapt the display effect based on the browser fingerprint and recommend functions suitable for the user's device and browser. After detecting the screen resolution, the page layout is automatically adjusted to provide the best visual effect.

Negative Roles

• Privacy leakage: The uniqueness of browser fingerprints makes it a tracking tool. Even if the user clears cookies or changes the IP address, it may still be tracked, resulting in the leakage of personal browsing habits and identity information.

• Precise advertising: Advertisers use browser fingerprints to track user behavior and conduct precise advertising. Although it improves the advertising effect, it may also make users feel over-tracked and harassed.

Different Types of Browser Fingerprints

1. Audio

Audio fingerprint can identify devices by detecting tiny differences in the audio played by the browser. When your browser plays audio, different devices may have different audio processing chips or drivers, and these differences will cause subtle differences in the audio signal. By analyzing these differences, the website can generate a unique audio fingerprint that can be used to identify your device.

2. Canvas

Canvas fingerprinting allows the user's browser to draw hidden images without knowing it, thereby obtaining a digital fingerprint. During the drawing process, the HTML canvas element will display information about the device, and it will render the image based on the hardware and software configuration of your device. Different devices will have slight differences when rendering images. By analyzing these differences, the website can generate a unique Canvas fingerprint.

3. Client Rects

Client Rects fingerprints are generated by detecting the size and position of web page elements. The browser measures the size and position of elements on the web page, such as buttons or text boxes. Different devices may have different screen resolutions or browser settings. These differences will cause the size and position of web page elements to vary, thereby generating a unique Client Rects fingerprint, providing websites with more details about the user's device.

4. DNS

DNS is the system the Internet uses to convert domain names into IP addresses. When you visit a website, your device queries the DNS for the website's IP address. Sometimes, your DNS requests may be captured by a third party, they can know which websites you are visiting and track your online behavior. This may expose your behavior and be detrimental to your online privacy.

So if you want to know whether your DNS requests are being leaked or not, you can check it with BrowserScan's DNS Leak Test tool.

5. Font

Font fingerprint is generated by detecting the fonts installed on your device. Your device may have some special fonts installed, while other devices do not have these fonts installed. By detecting the presence or absence of these fonts, a unique font fingerprint can be generated.

6. IP address

An IP address is a unique identifier for your device when it is connected to the Internet. It helps websites understand your approximate location, such as country, city, etc. IP addresses can also be used to identify and track your device, especially when combined with other fingerprint information.

7. MAC address

The MAC address is a unique identifier for your network device. While the MAC address is not usually exposed directly to websites, in some cases, such as through technologies such as WebRTC, it can be leaked and used to identify your device. Websites can use this leaked address to identify your device even if you change your IP address.

8. Screen Resolution

Screen resolution is the width and height of your device screen in pixels. Different devices have different screen resolutions, and websites can optimize page layouts by detecting your screen resolution.

9. User-Agent

User-Agent is an HTTP header information sent by the browser to the website server, which contains information about the browser type, version, operating system, etc. The website uses User-Agent to understand your browser environment and provide the best user experience. By analyzing the User-Agent string, the website can understand your browser environment.

10. WebGL Fingerprint

WebGL fingerprints are generated by detecting small differences in how browsers generate 3D graphics. When your browser is asked to generate a 3D graphic, it will render that graphic based on the hardware and software configuration of your device. Different devices will perform differently when processing 3D graphics, and while not 100% unique, it is enough to make each user's WebGL fingerprint a somewhat unique identifier when considering small variations in drivers and graphics.

Above these are some of the browser fingerprint types we usually mention. If you want to know your browser fingerprint, you can use BrowserScan to check them. It is a powerful browser fingerprint detection tool that helps you understand your browser characteristics more comprehensively.

How to Improve Online Privacy?

After understanding the types and functions of browser fingerprints, you may be worried about websites monitoring and tracking your information. Here are some simple and effective steps to avoid privacy tracking:

1. Use Anti-detect Browsers

Anti-detect browsers can simulate a variety of different browser environments and properties to make it difficult to track and identify the user's browser fingerprint when surfing the Internet. It generates a seemingly ordinary browser fingerprint by changing various browser properties, such as user agent strings, font lists, screen resolution, etc., so as to avoid being identified as a specific user.

2. Clean up Browser Cache and Cookies Regularly

Although cleaning up browser cache and cookies cannot directly prevent the detection of browser fingerprints, it can reduce the long-term tracking of users by websites through cookies and other methods, and reduce the risk of privacy leakage. Users can regularly clean up cache and cookies through the browser's settings menu to protect personal privacy.

3. Use Privacy Protection Plug-ins

Privacy protection plug-ins can prevent certain websites or third parties from collecting users' browser fingerprint information. By interfering with or preventing the operation of fingerprint detection scripts, privacy protection plug-ins can effectively protect users' privacy.

Finally

As a unique identifier, browser fingerprint plays an important role in network security and user experience optimization, but it also brings the risk of privacy leakage. By understanding the relevant knowledge of browser fingerprints, users can take effective privacy protection measures to protect their network privacy security. While enjoying the convenience of the Internet, we should improve our awareness of privacy protection and jointly create a safe and reliable network environment.

FAQs

Can I change my browser fingerprint?

Yes, you can change your browser fingerprint using specialized tools. These tools can change various browser properties to create a new fingerprint. These tools allow users to create unique browser profiles, each with a different fingerprint, making it difficult for websites to track you across different accounts.

Can Incognito Mode prevent browser fingerprinting?

No, Incognito Mode does not prevent browser fingerprinting. While it does provide some privacy benefits, such as not storing cookies or browsing history after the session ends, it does not change the underlying characteristics of your browser and device that are used for fingerprinting. Therefore, websites can still identify your browser based on attributes like screen resolution, installed fonts, and other system settings.

Is browser fingerprinting legal?

Browser fingerprinting is generally legal, as it involves collecting data that is publicly available and shared by browsers with websites. However, its legality can vary by jurisdiction and is subject to broader data protection and privacy regulations. For example, under the EU's GDPR, any form of tracking must have a lawful basis. Whereas in the United States, states have their own privacy laws regarding browser fingerprints that may apply.