What a browser fingerprint is
A browser fingerprint is a set of traits your browser and device reveal on every visit: how they render graphics, which fonts and audio hardware they have, screen size, timezone, language, and how they negotiate an encrypted connection. Taken together those traits are stable and distinctive enough to recognise the same visitor again — even after cookies are deleted.
How it works
A site runs a handful of small tests in the background and turns the answers into one identifier. Nothing is stored on your device, so there is nothing for you to clear: the identifier is recomputed from your own configuration every time.
Individually, a trait such as the screen resolution says little. Combined, a dozen such traits describe a configuration shared by very few people — which is exactly what makes recognition possible.
Signals it is built from
- CanvasThe same image drawn by different GPU and driver combinations differs in tiny details.
- WebGL3D rendering exposes the graphics adapter and its driver behaviour.
- FontsThe set of installed fonts differs between systems and installed software.
- AudioAn audio signal processed by the browser produces a device-specific result.
- Media devicesThe number and type of connected cameras and microphones.
- TLS / JA4The way the browser negotiates an encrypted connection identifies the client itself.
- System traitsOperating system, browser version, screen size, timezone, keyboard layout and languages.
Why sites collect it
Anti-fraud teams use fingerprints to spot account takeovers, bot traffic and duplicate registrations, and to keep a session tied to the device that started it.
The same technique is used for analytics and advertising: it lets a service recognise a returning visitor without asking for consent to store anything on their device.
Fingerprint versus cookies
A cookie is a small piece of data the site stores in your browser — you can delete it, and private mode discards it automatically.
A fingerprint is not stored anywhere: it is measured anew on each visit. Clearing browser data, switching to private mode or changing IP does not reset it, which is why it survives where cookies do not.
How to check your own
The check above shows the network half of the picture — the address you exit from, whether the real address leaks through WebRTC or DNS, and whether the timezone and languages match the country of that address.
Press "Full check" for the complete diagnostics; the links in the footer lead to independent checkers that look at the browser half of the fingerprint in more detail.
How an antidetect browser helps
An antidetect browser gives each profile its own consistent set of traits — graphics, fonts, screen, timezone, languages — and keeps that set stable between sessions, so a profile looks like one ordinary device rather than a new one each time.
Consistency matters more than uniqueness: a profile whose timezone or language contradicts its IP address stands out more than a plain default configuration.