> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.ipcheck.ing/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.ipcheck.ing/knowledge-base/lookup-privacy/browser-fingerprint.md). # Browser Fingerprint ## What it does The **Browser Information** tool shows two things. First, the basics: what your browser reports about itself, your operating system, screen, languages, time zone and more. Second, a **fingerprint** — a single code calculated from many small details of your browser, which together are often unique enough to recognise you again without any cookie. The tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is calculated on the server, and the fingerprint value is never included in a shared diagnostic report. ## How to run it Go to **Advanced Tools** and click the **Browser Information** card, or open `/tools/browserinfo` directly. It starts calculating on its own — there is no button to press. ## Reading your results ### Browser Information The **User Agent** is shown first, in full, with a copy button. Everything below it is either parsed from that string or read directly from the browser: | Field | Where it comes from | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Browser Name**, **Engine**, **Operating System**, **Manufacturer**, **CPU Architecture** | Parsed from the User Agent string. | | **GPU** | The graphics renderer name your browser exposes to web pages. | | **CPU Cores** | The number of logical processors the browser reports. | | **Languages** | Your full language preference order, not just the first one. | | **Timezone** | The time zone your system is set to. | | **Display** | Screen size, colour depth and pixel ratio. | | **Connection** | Network type estimate, speed and round-trip time. Only some browsers provide this. | | **Touch Points** | How many simultaneous touches your screen supports. Zero on most desktops. | | **Do Not Track** | On, Off, or Not Set. | | **PDF Viewer** | Whether your browser can display PDFs itself. | | **Cookies Enabled** | Yes or No. | None of these is secret on its own. The point is that the combination is narrow. ### Fingerprint Information The **Fingerprint Code** is the hash. It is a string of characters with no meaning by itself — it is only useful for comparison. The same browser with the same settings produces the same code again; a different browser, device or configuration produces a different one. Below the code is a list of switches, one per ingredient. These are the ingredients the tool can use: | Switch | What it measures | | -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Audio** | How your audio stack renders a test sound. | | **Canvas** | Tiny differences in how your device draws 2D graphics. | | **Fonts** | Which fonts are installed. | | **Hardware** | Reported CPU cores, memory and similar values. | | **Languages** | Your language preferences. | | **Permissions** | The state of browser permissions such as camera or notifications. | | **Plugins** | Browser plugins present. | | **Screen** | Resolution, colour depth and pixel ratio. | | **Browser Version** | Browser and platform version details. | | **WebGL** | How your GPU renders 3D graphics. | | **Math** | Small rounding differences in maths functions. | | **Intl Formatters** | How dates, numbers and currencies are formatted. | | **Media Devices** | The shape of your camera and microphone list. | | **Speech Synthesis** | Which text-to-speech voices are installed. | | **MathML** | How mathematical notation is laid out. | | **WebRTC** | Details exposed by the real-time communication stack. | A switch that is on means that ingredient is counted in the hash. Turn one off and the code is recalculated immediately without it. **Permissions** is off by default; everything else is on. This is the interesting part of the tool. Turn off Canvas, WebGL, Fonts and Audio one at a time and watch how much the code changes. Those four usually carry the most identifying power. ### Fingerprint Components The bottom section lists the raw values behind each ingredient, one row per detail. It is the "show your work" view: this is exactly the data that goes into the hash. ## What this means for your privacy {% hint style="warning" %} A fingerprint does not need your permission, does not use storage, and is not removed when you clear cookies. {% endhint %} * **Two different browsers on the same computer give different codes.** They render graphics, list fonts and report versions differently. Switching browser genuinely breaks the link. * **The same browser stays stable over time.** That is what makes fingerprinting useful to trackers. It usually survives private or incognito windows, because the ingredients do not change when you open one. * **A common configuration is safer than an unusual one.** A stock phone in a popular language shares its values with millions of others. A desktop with rare fonts, an unusual screen size and several extensions may be unique. There is a longer explanation, and what actually helps, in [Browser Fingerprinting Explained](/knowledge-base/concepts/browser-fingerprinting.md). ## Honest limits * **This is one method among many.** The tool says so in its own note: fingerprinting can be done in many ways, and different techniques produce different results. Your code here will not match the code another site computes. * **Some browsers fight back, and that changes what you see.** Safari, and browsers in strict anti-fingerprinting modes, deliberately return slightly different values each time. If your code changes on every reload, that is protection working, not a bug. * **Resistance has trade-offs.** Blocking canvas, WebGL and font access can make you *more* unusual rather than less, because very few people do it. It can also break sites that rely on those features. Sticking to a widely used browser configuration, and reducing what any single site can link together, is usually more effective than piling on extensions. * **A stable code is not proof you are being tracked.** It only shows that you *could* be recognised this way. ## What to do next * Read the background in [Browser Fingerprinting Explained](/knowledge-base/concepts/browser-fingerprinting.md). * Check what your network layer reveals with the [Invisibility Test](/knowledge-base/connection-tools/invisibility-test.md). * Your browser can leak your real IP separately from your fingerprint — see the [WebRTC Test](/knowledge-base/connection-tools/webrtc-test.md) and [Am I Leaking My Real IP?](/knowledge-base/diagnose/am-i-leaking-my-real-ip.md). * Work through the browsing section of the [Security Checklist](/knowledge-base/lookup-privacy/security-checklist.md). --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. 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