What is Device Fingerprinting?
Identifying a device (and thus its user) by collecting unique characteristics—screen size, fonts, plugins, hardware specs, behavior. Unlike cookies, fingerprints can't be easily cleared and persist across sessions.
Also known as: Device ID, Fingerprinting
Your device is unique. The combination of hundreds of attributes—many you didn't know your device had—creates a fingerprint that identifies you even without cookies.
What Gets Fingerprinted
Browser/Software
- Screen resolution and color depth
- Installed fonts
- Browser plugins and extensions
- Timezone and language
- Canvas and WebGL rendering (subtle hardware differences)
- Audio context (speaker/microphone characteristics)
Hardware
- CPU cores and memory
- GPU model
- Battery status
- Touch support
Behavioral
- Typing patterns
- Mouse movements
- Scroll behavior
Why Fingerprinting Persists
- No user control: Unlike cookies, you can't delete a fingerprint
- Cross-session: Works in incognito, after clearing data
- Cross-browser: Same device, different browsers—often same fingerprint
- Resistant to regulation: Harder to define and block than cookies
Privacy Implications
- Tracking without consent: Bypasses cookie consent mechanisms
- Identification: 99%+ uniqueness with enough attributes
- Persistence: Survives VPN, cookie deletion, browser reset
- Regulation: GDPR considers it personal data; browser vendors are adding anti-fingerprinting measures
Related Terms
Browser Fingerprinting
A tracking technique that collects information about your browser, device, and settings to create a unique identifier. Unlike cookies, fingerprints are nearly impossible to delete and can track you across websites without your knowledge or consent.
Cross-Device Tracking
Technologies that link your activity across multiple devices — phone, laptop, tablet, smart TV, and smart speakers — creating a unified identity profile even when you use different browsers, apps, or networks.
Tracking
The collection and correlation of data about your behavior across devices, sites, and time. Tracking enables targeted advertising, analytics, and surveillance. It's how companies and data brokers build detailed profiles of who you are and what you do.
Have more questions?
Use our guided flow to get the right next privacy step for Device Fingerprinting.
Open Guided Flow