Browser fingerprinting is the foundation for building device intelligence, enabling businesses to uniquely identify website visitors on websites around the world.

Just as your physical fingerprint is an absolutely unique combination of loops, whorls, and arches, the web browser you use to connect to websites also leaves a unique impression. However, instead of double loops and tent-shaped arches, browsers have personal markers such as screen resolution, stored WebGL, and graphics card configuration.

What is browser fingerprinting and how does it detect your device and block bot activity?
Reading this article and figuring them out now.

What is Browser Fingerprinting?

Browser fingerprinting is a set of tools and technologies that can capture data through the browsing activities of web users. Websites collect various information about you, such as user operating system, browser type, screen resolution, time zone, keyboard layout, etc., and this process is usually done without your knowledge. By processing these details, it creates a unique identifier or "digital fingerprint" for each user.

Browser fingerprinting looks a bit similar to cookies. But they are different in that fingerprinting does not require user consent and there is no "opt-out" function, which you can basically see when you first visit a website with cookies.

Which data will be collected?

Browser fingerprinting tools collect user data related to the user's software and hardware configuration, including:

How was I discovered?

If you're being tracked or identified, it's likely that your browser configuration, plugins, or lack of adequate privacy measures have made your fingerprint stand out. Fingerprints are especially effective for users:

• Rely on unique browser configurations.
• Use highly customized or outdated browsers.
• Fail to block JavaScript or Canvas data collection.

To avoid detection, consider privacy-focused browsers, tools like anti-detect browser solutions, disabling unnecessary plugins, or leveraging browser features that obfuscate fingerprint data.

How does Browser Fingerprinting work?

1️⃣ Step 1. Data Collection

Websites collect user browser and device information through JavaScript or other technologies, including browser type, operating system, screen resolution, language settings, fonts, hardware information (such as GPU), and Canvas/WebGL rendering output.

2️⃣ Step 2. Combined attributes

The collected multiple attributes are integrated into a data set, which can maintain sufficient uniqueness even if some attributes change (such as browser upgrades).

3️⃣ Step 3. Generate a unique identifier

By processing these data sets (such as hash calculations), a unique fingerprint is generated to identify the user's device and browser.

4️⃣ Step 4. Cross-session and website tracking

Websites use the generated fingerprints to track users, and can still identify the same user even if the user clears cookies or enables privacy mode.

How to bypass Browser Fingerprinting?

Scrapeless Scraping Browser is an effective way to bypass Browser Fingerprinting. It provides a high-performance serverless platform. It effectively simplifies the process of extracting data from dynamic websites. Developers can run, manage, and monitor headless browsers without dedicated servers, enabling efficient web automation and data collection.

Why is Scrapeless special for web scraping?

Scrapeless Scraping Browser has a global network covering 195 countries and more than 70 million residential IPs, a powerful web unlocker, and a highly stable captcha solver. It is ideal for users who need a reliable and scalable web scraping solution.

How to use the Scrapeless scraping browser?

• Step 1. Sign in Scrapeless
• Step 2. Enter the "Scraping Browser"
• Step 3. Set parameters according to your needs
• Step 4. Copy the sample codes for integrating into your project: > Puppeteer

const puppeteer = require('puppeteer-core');
const connectionURL = 'wss://browser.scrapeless.com/browser?token='; //input API token

(async () => {
    const browser = await puppeteer.connect({browserWSEndpoint: connectionURL});
    const page = await browser.newPage();
    await page.goto('https://www.scrapeless.com');
    console.log(await page.title());
    await browser.close();
})();

Playwright

const {chromium} = require('playwright-core');
const connectionURL = 'wss://browser.scrapeless.com/browser?token='; //input API token

(async () => {
    const browser = await chromium.connectOverCDP(connectionURL);
    const page = await browser.newPage();
    await page.goto('https://www.scrapeless.com');
    console.log(await page.title());
    await browser.close();
})();

Want to get more details? Our document will help you a lot!

• Puppeteer:

Install the necessary libraries

First, install puppeteer-core, a lightweight version of Puppeteer designed to connect to an existing browser instance:

npm install puppeteer-core

Write code to connect to the scraping browser

In your Puppeteer code, connect to the Scraping Browser using the following method:

const puppeteer = require('puppeteer-core');
const connectionURL = 'wss://browser.scrapeless.com/browser?token=APIKey&session_ttl=180&proxy_country=ANY';

(async () => {
    const browser = await puppeteer.connect({browserWSEndpoint: connectionURL});
    const page = await browser.newPage();
    await page.goto('https://www.scrapeless.com');
    console.log(await page.title());
    await browser.close();
})();

This way, you can take advantage of the Scraping Browser infrastructure, including scalability, IP rotation, and global access.

Examples:

Here are some common Puppeteer operations after integration with Scraping Browser:

• Navigation and page content extraction

const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.goto('https://www.example.com');
console.log(await page.title());
const html = await page.content();
console.log(html);
await browser.close();

• Screenshot

const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.goto('https://www.example.com');
await page.screenshot({ path: 'example.png' });
console.log('Screenshot saved as example.png');
await browser.close();

• Run custom scripts

const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.goto('https://www.example.com');
const result = await page.evaluate(() => document.title);
console.log('Page title:', result);
await browser.close();

• Playwright:

Install necessary libraries

First, install playwright-core, a lightweight version of Playwright that connects to an existing browser instance:

npm install playwright-core

Write code to connect to the scraping browser

In the Playwright code, connect to the Scraping Browser using the following method:

const { chromium } = require('playwright-core');
const connectionURL = 'wss://browser.scrapeless.com/browser?token=APIKey&session_ttl=180&proxy_country=ANY';

(async () => {
    const browser = await chromium.connectOverCDP(connectionURL);
    const page = await browser.newPage();
    await page.goto('https://www.scrapeless.com');
    console.log(await page.title());
    await browser.close();
})();

This allows you to take advantage of Scraping Browser's infrastructure, including scalability, IP rotation, and global access.

Examples:

Here are some common Playwright operations after integration with Scraping Browser:

• Navigation and page content extraction

const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.goto('https://www.example.com');
console.log(await page.title());
const html = await page.content();
console.log(html);
await browser.close();

• Screenshot

const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.goto('https://www.example.com');
await page.screenshot({ path: 'example.png' });
console.log('Screenshot saved as example.png');
await browser.close();

• Run custom scripts

const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.goto('https://www.example.com');
const result = await page.evaluate(() => document.title);
console.log('Page title:', result);
await browser.close();

7 Browser Fingerprinting Techniques

1. Canvas fingerprinting

Canvas fingerprinting analyzes differences in the GPU and graphics driver of the user's device through the HTML5 canvas element. The script draws an image and captures the browser's rendering results. Differences in device hardware result in slightly different renderings, and these characteristics are converted into a unique "canvas fingerprint".

2. WebGL fingerprinting

This technology uses WebGL to generate 3D graphics in the user's browser and generates a unique identifier for the device by analyzing subtle differences in the generated graphics (caused by the GPU and driver). It relies on a combination of device hardware and drivers to accurately distinguish users.

3. Media device fingerprinting

Media device fingerprinting generates fingerprints by identifying media hardware and connected devices on the user's device. Although users are required to authorize camera or microphone access, it is very useful for services that rely on media devices (such as video calls).

4. TLS fingerprinting

TLS fingerprinting identifies devices by analyzing the combination of encryption algorithms used by devices and servers when establishing secure communications. This method uses details in the TLS handshake to generate a unique device fingerprint.

5. Font Fingerprinting

This technology uses the unique set of fonts installed on the user's device to generate a fingerprint. By detecting font differences in the user's system, the website can distinguish between user devices. This method is particularly effective for personalized content delivery and user identification.

6. Mobile Device Fingerprinting

Mobile device fingerprinting uses data such as operating system and screen resolution to create a unique profile of the device. It helps platforms identify returning users and detect abnormal device behavior and is an important tool for optimizing user experience and preventing fraud.

7. Audio Fingerprinting

Audio fingerprinting identifies users by capturing tiny hardware and software differences in how devices generate and process audio. This technology is widely used in digital rights management and personalized audio content delivery.

Why were my fingerprints collected?

1. Fraud detection. Fingerprinting provides early warning indicators for sites that may be subject to high levels of fraud.
2. Account creation and recovery. Fingerprinting prevents the same user from generating/creating too many accounts. This prevents spam on their site and provides greater protection. In addition to this, matching fingerprints is a very useful tool for verifying the existence of users who need to recover their accounts after forgetting their login information.
3. Content personalization. Content personalization is closely related to fingerprinting. Advertisements and web page personalization can be built based on your usage history, guiding you to find things that you think you want to see, hear, or even buy.

Cookies & Browser Fingerprinting: specific differences

Cookies are small pieces of data that websites store on your device to remember information about your visit. They are transparent and easy to manage, allowing users to view, delete, or block them through browser settings. However, fingerprints are completely passive. They silently collect data without being stored on your device or having any direct interaction with you.

The following content can help you clearly see their differences:

The Bottom Line

Browser fingerprinting has become a powerful but controversial tool in online tracking, combining complex technology with deep privacy issues. Unlike using cookies, fingerprinting passively collects data and resists traditional privacy defenses such as "invisibility", making it a frequent and somewhat invasive tracking method.

How to effectively bypass fingerprint detection to achieve seamless data collection and crawling? Scrapeless Scraping Browser provides you with real browser fingerprinting and intelligent IP rotation, ensuring fast response and efficient website unblocking.