Fingerprinting
Does the browser change or hide the values scripts use to fingerprint the device?
Fingerprinting identifies a browser by combining many small details it reveals: screen size, installed fonts, time zone, graphics hardware, how it draws text on a <canvas>, and so on. None of them is unique alone, but together they often are. Unlike a cookie, a fingerprint can’t be deleted by the user.
Browsers counter it in three ways:
- Blocking known fingerprinting scripts (see Blocking of known trackers).
- Reducing what they reveal, for example by freezing version numbers in the User-Agent string.
- Randomizing values, so that each site sees a slightly different device.
By browser
Brave
- Randomizes values from APIs used for fingerprinting, such as canvas. The random seed changes per site and per session. New
- Blocks browser-language and font fingerprinting. New
- Freezes the macOS version to
10_15_7in the User-Agent string.
Sources (3) · 2026-10-31
- Brave Shields
- Brave fingerprinting protections
- Cookie Status test, 2026-10-31
Chrome
- The User-Agent string is reduced: the minor version, platform version and device model are frozen. Sites can ask for the details through User-Agent Client Hints. New
- Freezes the macOS version to
10_15_7in the User-Agent string.
Sources (2) · 2026-10-31
- Cookie Status test, 2026-10-31
- User-Agent Reduction (Chromium)
Edge
- Requests to known fingerprinters are blocked (see Blocking of known trackers). New
- Freezes the macOS version to
10_15_7in the User-Agent string.
Sources (2) · 2026-10-31
- Tracking prevention in Microsoft Edge
- Cookie Status test, 2026-10-31
Firefox
- Limits how much information about the device and browser is revealed to sites. Mozilla says this makes about 14% fewer users uniquely identifiable, and about 49% fewer on macOS. Firefox 151+ New
- Requests to known fingerprinters are blocked (see Blocking of known trackers). New
- Freezes the macOS version to
10.15in the User-Agent string.
Sources (2) · 2026-10-31
- Firefox 151 release notes
- Cookie Status test, 2026-10-31
Safari
- No noise is added to fingerprinting APIs such as canvas: the canvas fingerprint was the same across sites and restarts. Safari 26 New
- Freezes the macOS version to
10_15_7in the User-Agent string.
Sources (2) · 2026-10-31
- Cookie Status test, Safari 26
- Cookie Status test, 2026-10-31
History
Firefox 151 adds fingerprinting protection to Standard mode
Firefox limits how much information about the device and browser is revealed to sites in its default mode, not only in Strict mode.
Firefox 72 blocks known fingerprinters
Requests to domains in Disconnect.me’s Fingerprinting category, when also listed as trackers, are blocked by default.