Most people understand that companies, third-parties and data brokers can track you using browser cookies. But what happens when you disable cookies? Does that stop tracking altogether? No, not really.

You may be surprised by this answer, you may not, but there are a lot of other ways to track you, even across platforms. Resourceful snoopers can spot when you move from a mobile device to a desktop or laptop, even without cookies. Another rather simple and straightforward way to track you is to use your public IP address.

However, one particularly insidious way to track you and your family, and to create a more complete digital footprint or profile of a person, is to use a method called browser fingerprinting. If I’m a data broker, using the tools at my disposal, I create a database or pseudo-collection of identifiable information. I use what I know and what I have to continue to identify you as you move or browse the web, and it all gets added to the core database or profile. Think of it as assigning you a unique ID number that I can recognize and track.

What the hell is browser fingerprinting and how is it different from other tracking methods?

Source: Lukenn Sabellano / Unsplash

Browser fingerprinting is ingenious, to be honest, and it’s more insidious, in my opinion. You don’t need to ask permission to utilize the related information, and the person or people you’re tracking are pretty much none the wiser. It’s also completely legal and hasn’t been banned anywhere. There’s a good reason for that, but we’ll get there.

Great, so how does it work?

If I’m on the other side of the connection and I can build a unique profile from the software and hardware you’re using, I can use that to both identify and track you. For a better, more detailed example, let’s say I use the backend website or app code to talk to the browser and explicitly collect information about your local timezone, the GPU installed in your computer, your CPU, RAM count, monitor resolution, browser type, browser version, and other small specifications. Individually those details don’t mean anything. But collectively, they make up your machine or device. Even mobile devices share this hardware and software information.

Using sophisticated tracking tools, I can compile this data and identify you. Anyone. Everyone.

Don’t think it’s happening to you right now? Wrong. It happens the very second you connect to the internet. You can use the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s excellent tool to test this out. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Here’s the scary part, though. Anyone with web development knowledge or skills can do this. It’s part of how basic websites work. Responsive design, mobile-friendly sites, even regular desktop sites, they utilize this hardware and software information to deliver the best possible experience to you. For instance, they will adjust the content on a page to match the resolution of your device so it all fits neatly and you can continue reading, watching, or scrolling with no hiccups. So, it’s not always used for something nefarious. Originally, tracking people was not how it was meant to be used.

Where can I learn more?

Source: FlyD / Unsplash

I want to encourage everyone to understand these concepts, techniques and technologies because I believe everyone has a right to know what’s happening with their data. I’ve already linked it above, but the Electronic Frontier Foundation does a good job of explaining basic tracker concepts.

What you probably want to know next is how to block or thwart these trackers? Incredible question.

• Use a secure or privacy-focused browser like Brave or Tor.
• Private Browsing in Firefox offers some limited protections. But it’s important to note that Incognito Mode in Chrome and Chromium forks does not offer any protection.
• Disable Javascript. This may break your experience on many websites. But most trackers and collection tools use JavaScript, so it works.
• Take advantage of DuckDuckGo’s Tracker Radar on compatible devices. Use a privacy search engine like DuckDuckGo to find content.
• Ad blockers can eliminate some of the tracking, and every little bit helps.

It’s not a perfect science, and I know, I know, I have advertisements and affiliate links on Techigar, it seems hypocritical. But the reality is I have to make a living. I try to keep things as reasonable as possible, and I still advocate for browsing with an ad-blocker or via a privacy browser like Brave.

Then there’s always the point that I’m using my platform — this site — to help educate others on tracking and data collection.

In the end, now you have a better understanding of browser fingerprinting and how snoopers are collecting your information sans cookies. Stay vigilant techies.