How browser fingerprinting works, why it matters, and the myths you should ignore

Browser fingerprinting is back in the spotlight after a Helium browser developer called out Brave over its “Block fingerprinting” wording.

Wukko, the developer behind Helium, argued that the phrase has helped create the wrong impression of what privacy browsers can do. “I wonder who seeded the narrative that browser fingerprinting can be ‘blocked’, because that’s simply not true if you keep the browser functional,” he wrote on X.

That does not mean fingerprinting protection is useless. Far from it. The real question is whether browsers are being clear enough about what these tools actually achieve.

So my intention with this article is to make things clear and bust some myths that have been doing the rounds online.

For starters, a browser fingerprint is not one single piece of information. It is a mix of small details that a website can collect when you load a page. That may include your screen size, browser version, language, time zone, device hardware, installed fonts, and even how your graphics card renders an image.

On their own, these details are not especially interesting. But put enough of them together, and your browser can stand out from millions of others. A website may then be able to recognise it when you return, even if you cleared cookies or opened a private window.

This is why fingerprinting is more complicated than normal cookie tracking. Cookies are files saved in your browser, and you can usually delete or block them. Fingerprinting relies on information that your browser needs to share to keep websites working.

That is also why it cannot simply be switched off.

A website needs to know some things about your device to display properly. It may need graphics features for a game, audio tools for a call, screen information for a layout, or language settings for the right version of a page. If a browser hides or blocks every possible signal, parts of the web can stop working. And that’s certainly not the experience you want when browsing the web.

Helium’s own approach reflects that reality. As we reported earlier, the browser says it adds noise to certain browser features to make tracking and profiling harder. Its settings page also plainly admits that fingerprinting “cannot be fully prevented.”

That is the key point in this whole debate.

Brave’s Shields setting uses the more direct phrase “Block fingerprinting.” It sounds reassuring, but it can also sound like a promise that sites cannot fingerprint you at all. Brave’s technical documentation paints a more nuanced picture. It randomises or limits some browser data that trackers use, including certain language and font-related signals. The idea is to make a fingerprint less stable and less useful for tracking, not to make the browser invisible.

So, Wukko’s criticism is really about language. Calling it “fingerprinting protection” or saying it makes tracking harder is more accurate than suggesting the practice has been completely blocked. And I must admit that they have a point.

There are a few other myths worth dropping too. Incognito mode does not make you anonymous. It mainly stops your browser from keeping your local history and cookies once you close the window. Your display, browser build, graphics setup, and many other traits may still look the same to a website.

A VPN does not solve everything either. It hides your IP address from the site, but it does not change all the details your browser reveals. It is one useful layer, not a disguise for your entire device.

For people who need stronger anonymity, even Brave has pointed elsewhere. Its product manager recently recommended Mullvad Browser or Tor Browser for users who want the most privacy. Tor Browser tries to make its users look more alike by standardising many browser details, though that comes with usability trade-offs.

If there’s one thing to take away from this, it’s that you cannot become fully unfingerprintable while browsing the normal web. Of course, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care about fingerprinting completely. Browser protections can still make tracking less reliable, less persistent, and more expensive for the companies trying to follow you around.

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