Key Takeaways
- Fingerprinting identifies you without cookies.
- It uses your hardware (screen size, battery, GPU) to create a unique ID.
- Clearing your history or cache does not change your fingerprint.
- Only specialized browsers (like Tor or Brave) can truly fight it.
Blocking cookies is no longer enough. You have a "Digital Fingerprint" that is almost impossible to erase.
How it works
Websites run scripts to collect seemingly harmless information about your device. Individually, these details are common. But combined, they create a highly unique profile:
- Screen Resolution: The exact dimensions of your monitor.
- Installed Fonts: The unique list of fonts on your system.
- AudioContext: How your specific sound card processes audio signals.
- Canvas Fingerprinting: How your graphics card renders 2D images.
- Battery Level API: The precise battery percentage of your laptop/phone.
A study by the EFF found that for 83.6% of browsers, this combination of data is unique. Tracking companies assign you a hash ID based on this data, so even if you switch Wi-Fi networks and delete cookies, they know it's still you.
How to stop it?
It is difficult. Standard "Ad Blockers" don't stop fingerprinting. Use browsers like Firefox (with Enhanced Tracking Protection set to Strict) or Brave, which "fuzz" or randomize these values to confuse trackers.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
See your User Agent and headers.
HTTP Headers Spy