PSA: Online Fingerprinting Allows Websites To Track You

Geoffrey Fowler, writing for The Washington Post:

Fingerprinting happens when sites force your browser to hand over innocent-looking but largely unchanging technical information about your computer, such as the resolution of your screen, your operating system or the fonts you have installed. Combined, those details create a picture of your device as unique as the skin on your thumb.

This piece provides a good explanation of the predatory practice of online fingerprinting.

Unfortunately, there’s no clear answer on how to prevent websites from identifying you via fingerprinting, but some devices and web browsers are safer than others. As Fowler explains, Apple devices using the Safari browser are the most protected from this threat. If you have an iPhone, Mac, or iPad, you should definitely be using Safari — it’s already the fastest and most battery efficient browser for Apple products — because they’ve built in a lot of protections to keep users safe from fingerprinting. Fowler also points out that Google Chrome has almost no protections in place to prevent fingerprinting; if you use an Android phone or a Windows computer, you should use Firefox instead of Chrome as your default browser.

Also, props to Fowler for calling out his own publication for using fingerprinting on their website; that’s true, courageous journalism.