Google’s recent decision to enable tracking of digital fingerprints starting February 16th marks a significant shift in their advertising and user tracking policy. This move allows companies using Google’s advertising products and services to employ fingerprinting tracking, an advanced method that surpasses conventional cookies. The change comes amid an evolving digital landscape increasingly populated by connected devices.
Historically, Google has opposed fingerprinting, arguing that it does not align with users’ privacy expectations. In 2019, Google stated that fingerprinting undermines user choice and is inherently wrong. However, the rise of connected devices like smart TVs, gaming consoles, and streaming services has led Google to justify their new stance on fingerprinting as necessary for businesses to connect with relevant audiences and assess ad campaign effectiveness.
Understanding Fingerprinting
What is Fingerprinting?
Fingerprinting involves gathering detailed information about a remote computing device for identification purposes. This method ensures advertisers can target users across different devices and platforms, even when conventional tracking like cookies is disabled. Compared to traditional methods, fingerprinting can track users across various platforms such as CTV, tablets, and browsers, irrespective of cookie settings. The implications for online privacy and data security are significant, given the comprehensive nature of this tracking method.
Unlike cookies, which users can clear or block, fingerprinting assembles a unique identifier based on a user’s device and browser configuration. This identifier is challenging to alter or delete, effectively diminishing user control over their online privacy. The method applies a combination of device attributes, making it possible to recognize users even after they clear their browsing history or switch to a “private” browsing mode. The widespread use of fingerprinting could see a shift in power dynamics from users to data brokers and advertisers, who can harness this sophisticated tracking method.
Types of Fingerprinting
There are two types of online fingerprinting: browser fingerprinting and device fingerprinting. Browser fingerprinting collects details about users’ web browsers—including their plugins, screen resolution, and timezone—during website visits. For instance, slight differences between your browser’s configuration and another user’s make your fingerprint unique. This form of fingerprinting can happen within seconds of visiting a website, leaving little room for user consent or awareness.
Device fingerprinting goes deeper, gathering information from the device’s hardware—including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. This data encompasses an array of device-specific features like the type of graphics card, installed fonts, and operating system. Aggregated information forms a highly accurate profile that persists across different usage sessions. Together, these distinct types of fingerprinting create a robust and comprehensive picture of user activity, making it difficult for users to maintain their privacy online.
Implications of Google’s Policy Shift
Replacement of Third-Party Cookies
Google’s policy change suggests that fingerprinting, which users cannot fully control or erase, might gradually replace third-party cookies that users can manage. Third-party cookies once allowed users a semblance of control by enabling them to clear browsing data and prevent tracking when they chose. However, fingerprinting’s persistent nature eliminates this control, posing significant risks to user privacy. The shift represents a substantial departure from Google’s previous stance against fingerprinting, further complicating the user experience by eroding manageable privacy options.
As fingerprinting becomes more prevalent, it may also set a new industry standard for user tracking, pushing other tech giants to adopt similar methods. Combined with Google’s dominance in online advertising, this could lead to broader adoption of fingerprinting across various platforms. For users, this often translates to a loss of privacy control, making it nearly impossible to escape tracking without completely forgoing many online activities and services. The transition may also compel users to find additional privacy tools to regain a sense of security and anonymity online.
Real-World Consequences
The real-world consequences of fingerprinting are far-reaching, extending beyond mere online behavior tracking. For example, health and life insurance companies can access harvested data from users’ search histories to categorize them as high-risk, leading to increased premiums. If a user frequently searches for information related to certain medical conditions, insurance companies might interpret this data as indicative of higher health risks. This undermines the confidentiality of medical searches, previously considered private and protected from such scrutiny.
Similarly, online retailers leverage location-based browser fingerprinting to adjust product pricing, inflating prices for users in affluent neighborhoods. Once location-specific data reveals a higher income bracket, prices for everyday items can increase without the user realizing it. This practice raises ethical questions about fairness and transparency in e-commerce. These real-world applications of fingerprinting illustrate the tangible impact on users’ financial and personal lives, complicating everyday online interactions with unseen influences.
Protecting Against Fingerprinting
Limited Protections
Despite the expansive reach of fingerprinting, complete protections against it aren’t available yet. However, users can take certain measures to shield their online footprint. One method is using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), which hides the user’s IP address by routing the connection through the VPN’s server. Although effective in disguising the real IP address, VPNs do not mask browser settings or other device-based information that fingerprinting relies on. This partial protection requires users to combine multiple strategies to achieve broader privacy coverage.
Alongside VPNs, users can employ privacy-focused browser extensions and change browser settings to reduce tracking. Disabling JavaScript can limit some fingerprinting efforts, although it can also break the functionality of certain websites. Adjusting settings to clear cookies and cache automatically upon closing the browser can provide an additional layer of security. Together, these steps offer incremental improvements in privacy, although they cannot entirely prevent sophisticated fingerprinting methods from working.
Privacy-Focused Browsers
Another approach is using privacy-focused browsers such as Firefox, Brave, DuckDuckGo, Vivaldi, Mullvad, and Tor. These browsers offer stronger defenses against tracking and fingerprinting compared to Google’s Chrome. Firefox and Brave, for example, integrate features that block known fingerprinting scripts and trackers by default. Tor goes further by routing traffic through multiple volunteer nodes, masking user information effectively. These browsers emphasize user control over privacy settings, making it harder for tracking methods to yield accurate fingerprints.
It’s important to note that Private Browsing and Incognito Modes do not shield against remote tracking or fingerprinting, particularly on Google Chrome. While these modes prevent local data storage, such as history and cookies, they are ineffective against advanced tracking techniques. Users need to be aware of these limitations and take additional steps to safeguard their privacy. Leveraging secure browsers combined with VPNs and privacy extensions can help mitigate some risks, though no single solution provides complete protection.
Broader Impact on User Privacy
Data Brokers and User Data
Given Google’s new fingerprinting policy, data brokers stand to gain more access to user data, linking online activities to real-life personas without users’ explicit consent or awareness. This raises significant privacy concerns, especially as data brokers already possess vast databases of personal information. The integration of fingerprinting data can provide more detailed and intimate profiles of individuals, which are then sold to third parties for targeted advertising, financial risk assessment, and even political campaigns.
The ramifications of this enhanced data collection go beyond personalized advertising. Users face increased risks of identity theft, discrimination, and exploitation as their digital profiles become more comprehensive. This scenario emphasizes the need for stronger regulatory oversight and user-centric privacy protections. Companies must be held accountable for transparent data practices that respect user consent and choice. The broader impact calls for a reassessment of how user data is handled, shared, and protected in the digital age.
Recommendations for Users
Fingerprinting entails collecting detailed data about a remote computing device for identification purposes. This approach allows advertisers to target users across multiple devices and platforms, even when typical tracking methods like cookies are turned off. Unlike traditional tracking methods, fingerprinting can follow users across various platforms, including connected TVs, tablets, and browsers, regardless of cookie settings. Given its thorough tracking capabilities, the implications for online privacy and data security are significant.
Fingerprinting differs from cookies, which users can clear or block. It creates a unique identifier based on a user’s device and browser setup, making it hard to change or erase. This diminishes user control over their online privacy. The method utilizes a blend of device attributes, allowing recognition of users even after they clear their browsing history or switch to an incognito mode. The extensive use of fingerprinting could shift power from users to data brokers and advertisers, who can exploit this advanced tracking method to gather detailed user information.