You think you're out of the woods by deleting your cookies or simply opening a new tab. private navigation Sorry to disappoint you, but things are more complex. Each Sailor It leaves behind a multitude of small technical clues which, once combined, make it more or less identifiable online. AmiuniqueIt is possible to measure this digital footprint and better understand what it reveals about your private life.
AmIUnique, a fingerprinting research project
When you browse the web, your browser doesn't just display pages. It also discreetly transmits a wealth of technical information to the websites you visit. This includes your operating system, screen resolution, installed fonts, and even your graphics card model. Taken individually, these details aren't confidential. However, when combined, they form a nearly unique fingerprint. This is called fingerprinting, or digital identification. It's a kind of identity card that allows a device to be recognized. without using cookies.
AmIUnique was created precisely to study this phenomenon. Launched by a team of researchers and hosted by INRIA, this French project is free and non-profit. With a database of over 2 million fingerprintsIt even inspired some of the Brave browser's protections. In addition to the website, it also offers an extension for Chrome and Firefox. This one can track the evolution of your fingerprint for 90 days. There is also an Android app, available for download on the Google Play Store.
Now that you've covered the basics, why use this test? First, out of curiosity, to discover what goes on behind the scenes in an instant. Second, to check if your settings or ad blockers are truly protecting your vie privéeFurthermore, this tool also helps those who want to check the privacy of a connection using a VPN, proxy, or anti-detection browser.
How does he go about measuring your signature?
When you run the analysis, AmiUnique scrutinizes dozens of technical parameters transmitted by your browser. The test relies primarily on three main categories of information. First, there are elements related to hardware and graphics rendering. The site uses, for example, Canvas, WebGL, and AudioContext to observe how your device handles certain tasks invisible to the user. Due to minor hardware or software differences, the results may vary from one device to another, even when they are identical.
Next come system and network information, such as browser version, operating system, language, and time zone. This data is generally sent automatically on each visit and contributes significantly to the overall footprint.
JavaScript also detects certain elements, such as installed fonts, the exact screen resolution, or the presence of an ad blocker. Taken individually, these details seem insignificant. However, when combined, they are enough to distinguish your browser from thousands of others.
Once the analysis is complete, AmIUnique displays a similarity score, or Similarity Ratio, for each element studied. The lower this percentage, the rarer the characteristic. Here's how to interpret the numbers:
- Between 0% and 5%, the attribute is uncommon and makes it easier for your browser to identify
- Between 5% and 30%, we are approaching a classic configuration, used by many internet users
- Beyond 50%, the profile becomes very widespread, which is generally more favorable to privacy, as your fingerprint resembles that of a large number of users.
The goal is not to get a "good" or "bad" score, but to understand what elements make your browser more identifiable.
Can we therefore trust this site?
It's a legitimate question to ask before scrutinizing your device. The answer is yes. AmIUnique is a non-profit academic project with a purely educational approach. It doesn't try to sell you a miracle solution, but acts as a genuine diagnostic tool. Furthermore, its code is completely open source on GitHub.
To produce its analysis, this site naturally collects your technical configuration. It also places a 4-month technical cookie, solely to avoid counting your device twice in its statistics.
Just keep in mind that AmiUnique won't "block" tracking for you. It simply highlights what makes you visible. If the test indicates that your browser is too unique, avoid installing ten more extensions. Paradoxically, this could make you even more detectable.
The best approach is to keep your default settings or use browsers like Brave or Tor BrowserThese tools are specifically designed to standardize your digital signature.
In summary, it is a free, credible and very useful tool for anyone who wants to understand what they are exposing on the web and adjust their browsing habits.
