Since May 2018 that we are all constantly being annoyed (specially if you’re in the EU) with cookie consent banners. This initiative, pushed by the European Union and called GDPR aims at enhancing individuals' control and rights over their personal data. One of the main ways this regulation tried to give the power back to people, was to restrain the usage of Cookies, considered as crucial to track your online activity.

Cookies per se are not evil and are even needed for proper usage of the Web, the problem is how some companies use them: tracking user behavior. Google, for example, has acknowledged that cookies are a disaster for privacy and other major web browsers like Safari and Firefox, have made efforts to reduce its usage.

So if Cookies are on the way out, how are companies going to identify you? Present you Browser Fingerprinting. This (not new) technology involves gathering detailed information about your browser’s or your device’s settings (version, extensions installed, language, colors, etc.) and with this identify you around the web with a high degree of certainty.

The bad news? this tracking method is largely hidden and there’s not much you can do to stop it.

❔ What is Browser fingerprinting and why it matters?

Wikipedia defines browser fingerprinting as follows:

“A device fingerprint, machine fingerprint, or browser fingerprint is information collected about a remote computing device for the purpose of identification. Fingerprints can be used to fully or partially identify individual users or devices even when cookies are turned off.”

Core concepts:

• While browsing the web you use a certain Browser and device

• This device has settings (language, version, network, installed extensions, etc.)

• With this advertisers can identify you with a degree of certainty of around 80 to 90 percent

In other words

By combining all this information into a fingerprint, it’s possible for advertisers to recognize you as you move from one website to the next. Multiple studies looking at fingerprinting have found that around 80 to 90 percent of browser fingerprints are unique

🔍 Problem

There are a number of privacy issues related to browser fingerprinting:

• It can be used to track individuals online without their knowledge or consent. This can potentially violate an individual's privacy rights, and may be used for malicious purposes such as identity theft or targeted advertising. 

• It can be used to bypass privacy-enhancing technologies such as ad blockers or privacy settings in browsers. This can ultimately undermine the effectiveness of these tools and make it more difficult for individuals to protect their privacy online.

✨ Solution

There’s no solution, but some measures you can take. Luckily, they are all covered by the excellent website Cover your Tracks, and include measures like:

• Using a Tracker Blocker

• Disabling JavaScript

• Changing browser settings from defaults

• Using a fingerprint resistant browser

💪 Positives

It can be used for security purposes, such as to prevent fraud or to track down criminals.

⛹️‍♀️ Players

Some possible examples of companies that may use browser fingerprinting could include advertising firms, website analytics providers, and online retailers. These companies may use browser fingerprinting in order to track users' online activity, serve targeted advertisements, and/or prevent fraud.

In 2020, 10% of the top 100,000 websites were using some sort of fingerprinting script.

🔮 Predictions

• More sophisticated technologies will come and make Fingerprinting more sophisticated and accurate

• Regulations over Fingerprinting will eventually have to appear

• Companies will explore other alternatives to Cookies and Fingerprinting, such as Google’s FLoC

Other resources

• Wired