GLOSSARY · DEVICE FINGERPRINT
Browser fingerprint
A browser fingerprint is a profile built by combining many small details a browser reveals: screen size, installed fonts, language, time zone, graphics and audio behaviour, supported features and more. No single detail identifies you, but the combination can be nearly unique.
Why it matters
Fingerprinting lets a site recognise a returning visitor without cookies, and it survives clearing your history, switching to a private window and changing your IP address with a VPN or proxy. That is why a VPN is not the same as anonymity. Sites use it for fraud prevention as well as tracking, and it can also reveal automation tools.
In practice
Browsers such as Firefox and Safari add protections, and some reduce details or add noise, while others make all users look the same. Odd combinations can make you easier to spot, not harder, so more settings and extensions are not always better. Our fingerprint test computes how unusual your browser looks, on your device, without sending the result anywhere.
Related terms
- User agent: A user agent is the line of text a browser or app sends with every web request to say what it is: its name and version, the rendering engine, and the operating system and device type.
- VPN: A VPN creates an encrypted tunnel between your device and a server operated by the VPN service.
- Tor: Tor is a free network, run by volunteers, that routes your traffic through three relays in sequence, with a layer of encryption for each, so that no single relay knows both who you are and where you are going.
- Proxy: A proxy server is an intermediary that makes requests on your behalf.