One tricky way to track users online is through fingerprinting. It gathers details about your device, browser, and online behavior to create a unique ID that stalks your every online move.
To dodge these digital stalkers, some folks block fingerprinting. But watch out!
This may not always stop account bans or online restrictions. In this article, we’ll talk about fingerprinting, why people block it, and its limits. Let’s dive in!
What is fingerprinting?
Fingerprinting is a sneaky way to track and identify people online. It collects info about your device, browser, and online behavior.
This info includes browser type, device type, screen resolution, installed plugins, and other browser settings. In addition, fingerprinting tracks your online activity, like the websites you visit, the pages you view, and the ads you click on. Sneaky, huh?
Fingerprinting Techniques
There are several types of fingerprinting techniques used to track users online. For example, browser fingerprinting involves collecting information about a user’s browser settings and configurations.
Device fingerprinting involves collecting information about a user’s device, such as the operating system and hardware specifications. Behavioral fingerprinting consists in tracking a user’s online behavior to create a unique identifier.
Advertisers and marketers commonly use fingerprinting and other entities to track users online and serve targeted advertisements. Websites can also use fingerprinting and online platforms to prevent fraud, detect spam, and monitor user behavior.
Why do people block fingerprinting?
People want to block fingerprinting for a couple of reasons. First, to keep their online privacy and security in check. Fingerprinting can track your every move online, monitor your behavior, and collect personal info that sneaky advertisers can sell or use for shady purposes.
Another reason people block fingerprinting is to avoid being tracked by online platforms. These platforms use fingerprinting to identify and track users and may restrict access or even ban users who break their policies.
To give these sneaky trackers the slip, folks can use VPNs or browser extensions that block tracking scripts. But keep in mind blocking fingerprinting may not always keep you safe from online restrictions or account bans.
Why blocking fingerprinting doesn’t stop account bans
If you’re trying to avoid a ban by creating a new account or using a different device, blocking fingerprinting is a good idea. However, this approach is no longer practical.The reason for this is that companies have become more sophisticated in how they detect and prevent ban evasions. They can use multiple data points to identify you, not just your fingerprint.
For example, they can look at your IP address, your behavior on the site, and even your keystrokes to determine if you’re the same user who was previously banned.Blocking fingerprinting alone won’t help you avoid these other detection methods. Some sites may even view attempts to block fingerprinting as suspicious behavior and flag your account for review.
So, if you’re trying to avoid a ban, it’s essential to understand that simply blocking fingerprinting is not enough. Instead, you need to take a more comprehensive approach that includes things like changing your IP address, modifying your behavior on the site, and using anti-detect browsers to avoid detection.
What about device spoofing?
So, if blocking fingerprinting doesn’t work, what about mimicking or spoofing another device? This way, multiple profiles could be accessed from a single device.
Unfortunately, this is also fraught with problems.
Once upon a time, this might have been a relatively simplistic operation. It might have been a case of simply modifying the User-Agent string, but these days that gives the game away immediately.
For example, they might decide to change the operating system type. All is well and good until you realize the level of detail of other elements which would need to be changed and the danger of these mismatching.
Every corresponding detail must be matched if you’re spoofing a specific OS. This can be from the obvious, like ensuring screen resolution reaches a mobile and not a laptop, to the less immediately apparent, such as having the X and Y values of a browser window permanently set at 0, as mobile more minors can’t be resized. What about smaller details like fonts? Not all systems will have the same list.
As we go into greater detail about in our research article, ‘Why mimicking a device is becoming almost impossible,’ the list and complexity of criteria to be spoofed go on – and almost no business has the resources to invest in covering all these bases individually.
How do anti-detect browsers help to avoid account bans?
These browsers also encrypt your internet traffic, making it harder for online platforms to monitor your activity.
Anti-detect browsers allow you to change your IP address easily. This makes it more difficult for online platforms to identify you.
These browsers let you switch between different browser types and versions, making it harder for online platforms to track you.
Anti-detect browsers allow you to change your device ID and other hardware identifiers, making it even harder for online platforms to recognize you.
These browsers also have built-in tools that clear your cookies and browsing history, making it harder for online platforms to collect data on you.
Anti-detect browsers let you emulate different operating systems and mobile devices, helping you avoid detection and account bans.
These browsers have advanced features that help you bypass online security measures, giving you more freedom to explore the internet without getting banned.
The best approach to avoid account bans: Multilogin
One powerful solution for managing multiple accounts and avoiding fingerprinting is Multilogin. What makes us the best anti-detect browser is:
We allow you to create and manage multiple browser profiles, each with its unique fingerprint.
Our fingerprints are fully customizable, native browser fingerprints
You can easily switch between browser profiles and manage multiple accounts without the risk of getting banned
We ensure your data is secure, simplify workspace sharing, and make team management effortless
We provide automation capabilities to eliminate manual processes.
Whether you’re a small business trying to take on the world or a big team trying to work smarter, Multilogin is the answer to all your problems. So just give it a try here.
