What Is Browser Fingerprinting?
Even with cookies blocked and a VPN on, a website can often recognise you again. It does this by combining many small, public details about your browser into a single, surprisingly unique fingerprint.
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What goes into a fingerprint
- Your browser, version, and operating system.
- Screen size, color depth, and time zone.
- Installed fonts and language settings.
- Graphics rendering quirks and device details.
Why it's powerful
No single detail identifies you, but the combination often does. Because these signals are part of normal browsing, blocking cookies or hiding your IP doesn't remove them. That's why a VPN alone isn't full privacy.
How to reduce your fingerprint
- Use a privacy-focused browser with anti-fingerprinting built in, like Firefox or the Tor Browser.
- Keep your browser updated and limit unusual extensions, which make you stand out.
- Avoid tweaking too many settings, since a very unusual setup is easier to track.