Web fingerprinting is worse than I thought

Re:Web fingerprinting is worse than I thought by A4ET8a8uTh0 on Tuesday March 21, 2023 @10:14AM (#35246398)

I will admit that it always made me confused as to why browser has access to detailed hardware information. I can understand OS. I can understand resolution. I can rationalize GPU. I don't understand though why it should be able to access .. well, everything about the machine.

edit: It is still impressive. Even with the firefox settings on, the website was able to identify me. I am not entirely certain how I want to approach this.

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Re:Web fingerprinting is worse than I thought by whamlastxmas on Tuesday March 21, 2023 @10:41AM (#35246881)

I would assume for more advanced browser features, like 4k video playing, that hardware information could tell the player whether your machine is capable of playing back 4k video without stuttering.

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Re:Web fingerprinting is worse than I thought by SV_BubbleTime on Tuesday March 21, 2023 @10:35AM (#35246802)

I got me on iPhone through BPN change, private window, and reboot.

I know what to think about this… I fucking hate it.

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Re:Web fingerprinting is worse than I thought by A4ET8a8uTh0 on Tuesday March 21, 2023 @10:40AM (#35246859)

That I can relate to, but the more immediate question is whether you are willing to adjust your habits to nullify its impact. Most people would not.

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Re:Web fingerprinting is worse than I thought by DavideNL on Thursday March 23, 2023 @06:51AM (#35272726)

Note that there's also:

  Settings > Safari > Advanced > Experimental Features

where you can disable OpenGL and such (i haven't tested yet.)

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Re:Web fingerprinting is worse than I thought by DavideNL on Wednesday March 29, 2023 @05:15AM (#35354570)

So i just found that the "SnowHaze" browser prevents fingerprinting on fingerprint.com and https://browserleaks.com/canvas

• https://apps.apple.com/nl/app/snowhaze/id1121026941?l=en

• https://github.com/snowhaze/SnowHaze-iOS

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Re:Web fingerprinting is worse than I thought by tenebrisalietum on Tuesday March 21, 2023 @11:50AM (#35247925)

Because the browser has become a vendor neutral, architecture neutral app engine and people want to do things like play MIDI instruments, use serial ports, use proprietary USB check scanners for accounting/ERP apps that work on the web and don't need SCCM to manage, etc.

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Re:Web fingerprinting is worse than I thought by aprilnya on Tuesday March 21, 2023 @07:26PM (#35254279)

yeah, but it should ask you if you want to allow the website to know this kind of stuff instead of just allowing it by default

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Re:Web fingerprinting is worse than I thought by account42 on Friday March 24, 2023 @08:09AM (#35287965)

> people want to

Some people want to do those things and for very specific websites. Most people don't even know what MIDI or serial ports are.

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Re:Web fingerprinting is worse than I thought by A4ET8a8uTh0 on Tuesday March 21, 2023 @12:49PM (#35248894)

edit/ update from original post cuz i cant edit anymore

So quick update since I am mildly obsessive.

I was sure it was either GPU, CPU or addons that were giving me away ( I do have a mildly unique setup ).

I ran few tests in VM and the moment I dropped GPU passthrough ( left CPU passthrough ), I was no longer ( based on that website anyway ) tracked across sessions.

In other words, cat and mouse game continues.

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Re:Web fingerprinting is worse than I thought by account42 on Friday March 24, 2023 @08:07AM (#35287941)

> I can understand OS. I can understand resolution. I can rationalize GPU.

None of these should be available to websites by default. The first two come from simpler times when people were not as concerned with privacy implications. The third has been and continues to be pushed by advertising companies (Google, Apple, Microsoft).

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