The modern society can be considered extremely interconnected, which means that privacy has become more of a privilege rather than a norm. Persons’ interactions through social networking sites to buying and selling online are aspects that were unknown but are being monitored today by each click, swipe, or tap. This work falls under three main categories of methods; graph based clustering, device fingerprinting. Yes, you may think it has something to do with an interest from a spy movie, yet it is a reality, and it is more than one can expect.
What is a Device Fingerprinting?
Device fingerprinting is another technique which is used to track specific devices due to the peculiarities of their parameters. As for the difference between cookies and device fingerprinting, the latter does not even need files at all, unlike cookies that are tiny files that are saved on the user’s device to monitor his activity. It only collects data about your devices’ and operating systems, browsers, screen resolutions, installed fonts, and even the plug-ins compatible with your browser. Thus, assembling such information, an individual ‘signature’ is formed which can be used to follow the device transition from one site to another.
How Does It Work?
Whenever you go to a website, the browser itself loads what is called a script, which gathers different pieces of info on the device/ computer. This information is then returned to the company’s server to be processed and used in generation of unique identification number for the device. Another important setting to examine is that unlike cookies that can be deleted or blocked by the user, device fingerprints are comparatively difficult to evade. Even if you remove your cookies or prefer another browser, your features of the device will remain distinguishable.
Why is Device Fingerprinting Used?
Most of the implementations of device fingerprinting focus on the tracking and profiling of users for advertising. This technology would be beneficial for the advertisers since they will get a chance of provide the clients with solicited messages which are likely to produce a sale. Besides, it can be applied to enhance the effectiveness of fraud prevention, thus biasing the security system to detect and prohibit improper actions.
The good, the middle, and the worst side
Like any other technology in the world, device fingerprinting has its own advantages and disadvantages as this paper has discussed. Just like that, it could improve usability because there are fewer barriers between useful information and real person behind screen. For example, financial institutions use fingerprint identification of devices against unauthorized access on their accounts.
However, the negative aspects of device fingerprinting are less desirable and highly invasive affecting user’s privacy. Thus, since it works in the background and without the user’s permission, it is considered as a kind of tracking. Unlike, cookies that users can disable with the help of browser settings, device fingerprints are much more difficult to regulate. This absence of control has attracted concerns on how this data is utilized and the individuals who get access to it.
Real-World Implications
Suppose you are visiting an online shop in search of a new pair of shoes; those are the personas of the users. It is for this reasons that you may find that the advertisements found on other websites begin to show the same shoes you were searching for. This is not by chance; this is what is commonly referred to as device fingerprinting. While some of the users may relish the fact that advertisements can be ‘selected’ to one’s taste, others may find it rather eerie to realize their every move online is being voyeuristically monitored.
Further, the data gathered through device fingerprinting can be fused with other data to generate profile databases of users. This can be information about your interest, sex preference, and or geographical location among other things. Profiles of such can be quite useful on the part of marketers, especially [as] the correspondents are quite often ready to share -> Such kinds of profiles can be rather informative for marketing companies; however, in case such accounts get into wrong hands it poses rather a threat to privacy.
What Can You Do To Safeguard Yourself?
While it’s difficult to completely avoid device fingerprinting, there are steps you can take to minimize your exposure:
- Use private browsers: Some well-known web browsers like Firefox and make it easier to prevent being tracked on the internet.
- Disable JavaScript: Most of the time, device fingerprinting approaches entail the use of JavaScript. It should be noted that by disabling it, some types of fingerprinting can be neutralized, but this necessarily has a negative impact on website work.
- Use Browser Extensions: Other tools that can be used include Privacy Badger as well as unblock Origin with the intention of blocking tracking scripts.
- Regularly Update Your Software: It is helpful to know the operating system and browser common vulnerabilities and stay updated with their security patches.
- Consider a VPN: A VPN can obscure your IP address which means that it will be difficult for someone to monitor your online activities.
Device fingerprints may be the future
The increasing awareness of device fingerprinting means that there is extended pressure for improving the presentation of device fingerprinting and enforcing new regulations for using it. , positive actions are already being taken in some of these jurisdictions. For example, the GDPR of the European Union contains provisions that can be considered as belonging to the regulation of device fingerprinting, and according to which companies need the user’s permission for data collection.
Conclusion
Device fingerprinting is a phenomenon that seems very useful in the contemporary digital world, providing possibilities for security and individualization at the same time that prompts important issues regarding privacy. Due to such activities, the users are becoming more conscious of how their data is being collected and utilized, and therefore the call for better privacy protections will remain on the rise. When it comes to managing device fingerprinting, what stands out ultimately is finding a middle ground between its convenience and the help it offers.
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