What Websites Know About You Right Now
Even without cookies, websites can identify you by combining dozens of data points your browser shares: screen size, fonts, timezone, plugins, canvas rendering, and more. This combination is often unique enough to track you across the web.
| Data Point | How Unique? | Can You Hide? |
|---|---|---|
| User Agent string | Medium | Spoofable |
| Screen resolution | Medium | Hard to change |
| Installed fonts | High | Firefox blocks |
| Canvas fingerprint | Very High | Extensions can block |
| WebGL renderer | High | Extensions can block |
| Timezone + Language | Medium | VPN changes timezone |
| Do Not Track header | Low | Ironically makes you MORE unique |
| Action | Impact |
|---|---|
| Use Firefox with resistFingerprinting | High — normalizes many data points |
| Use Tor Browser | Highest — all users look identical |
| Install CanvasBlocker extension | Blocks canvas fingerprinting |
| Use Brave browser | Good built-in fingerprint protection |
| Disable JavaScript (extreme) | Breaks most websites |
| Use a VPN | Hides IP but not fingerprint |