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Browser Fingerprinting And Why VPNs Won’t Make You Anonymous (hackaday.com)

submitted 2 months ago by Blaze@piefed.zip to c/privacy@programming.dev

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Amidst the glossy marketing for VPN services, it can be tempting to believe that the moment you flick on the VPN connection you can browse the internet with full privacy. Unfortunately this is quite far from the truth, as interacting with internet services like websites leaves a significant fingerprint. In a study by [RTINGS.com] this browser fingerprinting was investigated in detail, showing just how easy it is to uniquely identify a visitor across the 83 laptops used in the study.

As summarized in the related video (also embedded below), the start of the study involved the Am I Unique? website which provides you with an overview of your browser fingerprint. With over 4.5 million fingerprints in their database as of writing, even using Edge on Windows 10 marks you as unique, which is telling.

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[–] thermal_shock@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I don't do enough illegal shit to be a problem. I block 99% of ads, etc. if they really wanted me, my license plate is tracked all the time via cameras. If they really wanted me, come get me. You have to find the threshold that is acceptable to you, nothing is 100% secure without a LOT of preparation and work, which I just don't care enough about.

I'm not out here hiding bodies, there are larger issues/people to worry about.

[–] IceFoxX@lemmy.world 0 points 2 months ago

Used to create virtual avatars. To influence consumer behavior. To suppress the masses with minimal effort and maximize profits through fear, etc..