Unless you’ve been burying your head in the sand or avoiding technology like the plague, you’re probably aware that every move you make online is being tracked by data collection companies. This normally involves setting cookies on your browser or sweeping the internet for information you may have volunteered in the past, both of which techniques can be circumnavigated by following this helpful list of techniques for removing your personal information from cyberspace.
However, digital fingerprinting is an altogether more sophisticated animal. This relatively modern form of tracking your movements online relies on the technical specifications of the hardware you use and the software you favour, assimilating all of that apparently innocuous information to create a detailed identity of your device. Then, all it takes is a single log-in on said device for your identity to be ascertained with alarming accuracy. Keen to learn more? Read on.
How does digital fingerprinting work?
Every time you visit a website, it collects certain technical specifications about your device which can help it to optimise its layout for an improved user experience. This includes such details as the browser you use, the languages and fonts favoured by it, your time zone, the screen resolution, graphics driver information, CPU type, operating system and many other seemingly humdrum minutiae.
While you might think that these data points can do little to identify you (since many millions of people use Chrome, for example), the cumulative picture they paint can be quite unique. Indeed, some spectators estimate that digital fingerprinting can pinpoint individual internet users with a staggering 95% to 99.5% accuracy.
Why should I be worried about digital fingerprinting?
For many people, digital fingerprinting is even more concerning than cookie or data collection precisely due to its technical (and therefore less easily intelligible) nature. Even after having the concept explained to them, a significant percentage of casual internet users might still struggle to wrap their head around how it works – which makes it all the more disconcerting.
At the same time, digital fingerprinting is extremely hard to counteract. Cookies can be wiped, data collection policies can be opted out of and existing information removed from the internet, but it’s very difficult to alter the physical and digital specs of your online experience to such a degree that you’ll blend into the crowd for any substantial period of time, especially without negatively impacting on your own experience.
What can be done?
Having said that, there are certain steps which can be taken. For starters, not all browsers are created equal when it comes to the protections they put in place against digital fingerprinting. Mozilla, for example, claims that Firefox has blocking capabilities enabled in its default setting, while Brave goes even further in its privacy protection policies.
While Chrome is somewhat lagging in this regard, it does benefit from the multitude of extensions and add-ons which can be installed to combat fingerprinting. Indeed, there are a variety of third-party apps and programmes that have been specifically designed to obfuscate your device and keep it safe from prying eyes.
While digital fingerprinting is extremely difficult to prevent entirely, there are ways in which you can limit your exposure to it.