Many people believe they are safe online once they disable cookies, switch on private browsing, or limit app permissions. Yet these steps do not prevent one of the most persistent tracking techniques used today. Modern devices reveal enough technical information for websites to recognise them with surprising accuracy, and users can see this for themselves with a single click using publicly available testing tools.
This practice is known as device fingerprinting. It collects many small and unrelated pieces of information from your phone or computer, such as the type of browser you use, your display size, system settings, language preferences, installed components, and how your device handles certain functions. None of these details identify you directly, but when a large number of them are combined, they create a pattern that is specific to your device. This allows trackers to follow your activity across different sites, even when you try to browse discreetly.
The risk is not just about being observed. Once a fingerprint becomes associated with a single real-world action, such as logging into an account or visiting a page tied to your identity, that unique pattern can then be connected back to you. From that point onward, any online activity linked to that fingerprint can be tied to the same person. This makes fingerprinting an effective tool for profiling behaviour over long periods of time.
Growing concerns around online anonymity are making this issue more visible. Recent public debates about identity checks, age verification rules, and expanded monitor
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