Glossary
What is Chrome fingerprinting?
Chrome fingerprinting is the practice of identifying a Chrome browser by combining many small traits that the browser reveals to every website, such as its version, screen, fonts, language and graphics output. Together the traits form a fingerprint that is often distinctive enough to recognise the same browser on a later visit, without a cookie. Sites use it for fraud prevention, bot detection and security; advertisers have also used it for tracking.
How it works
When a page loads, a script can read values that Chrome exposes for ordinary rendering: the browser and operating system version, the screen size, the installed languages, the region settings and which features are supported. It can also draw hidden shapes and text and read back the pixels, which differ slightly between graphics hardware and drivers.
No single value identifies anyone. The combination does. Two people with the same laptop model may still differ in fonts, extensions, display settings or graphics stack, and the mix is stable from one visit to the next.
Why Chrome in particular
Chrome is the most used browser, so most of the traffic a site needs to judge comes from it. Chrome also shares much of its engine with other browsers, which makes the visible traits look similar across millions of users and raises the importance of the less common ones.
Why it matters to an online business
- It recognises a returning device after cookies are cleared or a private window is opened.
- It helps tell a person from a script driving a browser.
- It links repeat sign-ups, trial claims and coupon claims that come from one device.
- It can show a browser that was altered to hide who is behind it.
Privacy and limits
A fingerprint identifies a browser, not a person, and it changes when the browser or its settings change. Chrome has been adding privacy features that reduce some of the traits it exposes, so a good implementation uses many traits rather than relying on one. Collecting fingerprints for fraud prevention should be disclosed in your privacy policy.
Where FingerPrint Checker fits
FingerPrint Checker gives each browser visitor a device ID that is computed on our servers from the signals a small agent script collects. Routine changes such as a browser update do not create a new visitor. You can see what your own browser reveals with the free test.
Frequently asked questions
Can Chrome fingerprinting be blocked?
Partly. Privacy extensions and hardened browsers can hide or randomise some traits, but randomised values are themselves unusual and can make a browser stand out.
Is a Chrome fingerprint the same as a cookie?
No. A cookie is stored on the device and the user can delete it. A fingerprint is computed from traits the browser reveals, so nothing is stored in the browser to delete.
Does incognito mode stop fingerprinting?
No. A private window clears cookies when it closes but the browser, screen, fonts and graphics output are the same, so the fingerprint is largely unchanged.
Try it on your own sign-up flow
Every new account gets 2,000 free checks. No card required.