What is digital fingerprinting?
Definition
Digital fingerprinting is a way of identifying your device by combining many small details, such as screen resolution, installed fonts and browser settings, into a profile that is usually unique to you.
- Category
- Privacy
- Also called
- browser fingerprinting, device fingerprinting
- Last updated
A digital fingerprint is essentially a list of characteristics that are unique to a single user, their browser and their hardware setup, as the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Cover Your Tracks project puts it. Some details are sent by default so a page can load, like which browser and version you use. Others look insignificant on their own, such as screen resolution or installed fonts, and are gathered by tracking scripts. Put together, they can single out your device.
How it differs from cookies
Cookies are small files a website stores in your browser, and they work only until you delete them. A fingerprint isn't stored on your device at all. It's built from settings and hardware that are harder to change and impossible to delete, which is why fingerprinting is harder to escape than cookie tracking. EFF names the two as the main methods ad networks use to keep visitors linked to their activity.
Why it matters
The data points trackers collect can look mundane. Compiled together and linked back to you, EFF says, they can reveal a detailed behavioral profile, from political affiliation to education level to income bracket. A fingerprint lets that profile follow you across sites even when you've cleared your cookies.
A simple example: you clear your cookies and open a news site in a private window. The tracking script on the page reads the same browser, fonts and screen size as last time and recognises the device.
How to protect yourself
- 1
See what your browser reveals
EFF's Cover Your Tracks tool tests your browser and shows how identifiable it is to trackers.
- 2
Use tracking protections
EFF says completely blocking trackers is difficult, but protection doesn't have to be perfect to make a big difference. Use a browser with built-in tracking protection and a tracker blocker.
- 3
Don't rely on clearing cookies alone
Deleting cookies resets cookie tracking but doesn't change your fingerprint.
- 4
Cut down what's listed about you elsewhere
A fingerprint tracks your device. Your name, address and phone number sit on other sites. Serus finds where your address and phone number are listed and removes them.
See where your personal data is exposed
Serus finds it on data brokers and people-search sites and removes it.
Frequently asked
Is digital fingerprinting the same as cookies?
No. Cookies are files stored in your browser and disappear when you delete them. Fingerprinting uses hardware and browser characteristics that you can't simply delete.
Can a VPN stop digital fingerprinting?
Not by itself. A VPN changes your IP address, but screen size, fonts and browser settings are still visible to trackers.
Is a digital fingerprint the same as a biometric fingerprint?
No. A digital fingerprint describes your browser and device. A biometric fingerprint is the pattern on your finger.
Sources
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