What is Device Fingerprinting?
Device fingerprinting is used to identify and track devices on the internet, particularly computers and mobile devices. It collects information about a device and creates a unique “fingerprint” based on that information. This can identify the device whenever it connects to the internet, even if it is using a spoofed IP address or hides other identifiers.
Businesses use device fingerprinting for various purposes, including tracking users for targeted advertising, detecting and preventing fraud, and improving website security. Some device fingerprinting techniques are relatively simple and only gather a few pieces of information. In contrast, others are more complex and can collect much more data about a device.
Several different factors can be used to create device fingerprints. These include the type and version of the operating system, the browser and browser version originally used, the device’s IP address, the screen resolution, and the installed fonts and plugins. Some techniques may also gather data about the device’s hardware, such as the processor type and the amount of memory.
How is a Device Fingerprint created?
To create a fingerprint, a website or service will typically use JavaScript or other means to gather the relevant information about the device. This device intelligence is then sent to a server, where it is analyzed and used to create a unique fingerprint for the device.
Whenever the device connects to the internet again, the server can use the fingerprint to identify the device and track its activity. This also allows the server to personalize the user experience or monitor their site behavior.
Device fingerprinting is just one technique that can be used to track and identify devices on the internet. Many other methods include tracking cookies, browser fingerprinting, and device profiling.
How is it helpful?
Device fingerprinting can be helpful in many ways, depending on how it is used. Some of the potential benefits include:
- Personalization: Device fingerprints help personalize the user experience by providing customized content and recommendations based on the user’s past behavior and preferences.
- Fraud detection and prevention: It can identify suspicious activity and flag it for further investigation.
- Improved website security: It can improve website security by detecting and blocking suspicious activity and identifying and blocking malicious devices.
- Targeted advertising: Businesses can deliver targeted advertising by gathering information about a user’s interests and preferences and using that information to provide relevant ads.
- Improved user experience: By gathering information about a user’s device and preferences, fingerprinting helps to improve the overall user experience by providing a more personalized and relevant experience.
Device fingerprinting can also raise privacy concerns, as it involves collecting and storing information about a user’s device. To address these concerns, it’s crucial for companies that use this technology to be transparent about their data collection practices and to provide users with the ability to opt out or control their data.
How does Fraud.net use Device Fingerprinting?
Fraud.net offers fraud prevention and detection services for businesses. As part of our services, Fraud.net uses device fingerprinting to identify and track devices used to access businesses and their websites.
Our product, Device AI, scores, measures, and delivers real-time insights on website traffic so you can take action to keep your business safe while letting legitimate customers speed through. Device fingerprinting allows us to identify malicious or bot traffic and filter illegitimate users from accessing your site. You can also leverage this tool to track and trend suspicious activities and user behavior.
For each device, we use an SDK to capture, screen, and verify location, language, proxies and TORs, bots, scripts, and more. This service is designed to be quick and easy to implement and can integrate with a variety of business platforms. And our service can help businesses to reduce fraud and improve the overall user experience by providing a more secure and personalized experience.
Want to know more about Fraud.net’s fraud prevention and risk management platform for enterprises? Request a demo to learn how you can leverage AI and machine learning to protect your business.
