Introducing Anti-Fingerprinting: Because “Incognito” Isn’t Fooling Anyone
You’ve been told the internet is anonymous. You were told incognito mode makes you invisible. You probably also believed Santa was real until the mall photo guy looked suspiciously like your uncle after three eggnogs.
Here’s the truth: websites and advertisers don’t need cookies to track you anymore. They’ve moved on to something scarier, sneakier, and much harder to shake: browser fingerprinting.
What the Hell is Fingerprinting?
Every time you load a website, your browser leaves behind a trail of oddly specific breadcrumbs:
- Your screen resolution
- Your installed fonts and plugins
- GPU quirks
- Timezone and system language
- Even how your browser renders a 3D cube in WebGL
Put enough of those together and congrats, you’ve got yourself a unique fingerprint that can follow you across the web, even if you clear cookies, torch your history, and smash “Incognito Mode” like it owes you money.
This fingerprint is the online equivalent of being the only person at a masquerade ball wearing Crocs. You will get noticed.
Enter Windscribe Anti-Fingerprinting
Our shiny new extension feature, Anti-Fingerprinting, takes that unique little snowflake of yours and makes sure it never looks the same twice.
Instead of leaving the same digital trail, your fingerprint changes every time you use the browser. Think of it like showing up to the club in a new disguise each night. You are still unique, but no one can link today’s version of you to yesterday’s.
So when shady advertisers, analytics creeps, or the occasional government snoop try to piece together “who you are” based on those traits, they end up with a pile of unrelated costumes. No consistent ID, no trackable history, just confusion.
Why It Matters (a.k.a. Why You Should Care)
- Cookies are dead, long live fingerprinting: With more browsers killing off third-party cookies, fingerprinting is becoming the go-to tracking method.
- Harder to detect: Unlike cookies, there’s no little popup to warn you that a site is fingerprinting you. It happens silently.
- Cross-site, cross-session tracking: Even if you’re on a new site, in a new session, fingerprinting can still ID you.
Bottom line? If you don’t defend against it, you’re walking around the internet with your digital fly open.
Windscribe vs. Everyone Else
Most extensions don’t even bother with fingerprinting. They’ll hide your IP but leave your browser traits wide open. A handful of tools try, but usually by going nuclear: randomizing everything until half the web refuses to load.
Windscribe does it differently:
- It’s built right into the extension, no extra add-ons or scripts.
- It targets the sneaky stuff like canvas, WebGL, and audio fingerprints.
- It keeps sites usable, your browsing doesn’t grind to a halt just because you want privacy.
No gimmicks, no hoops, no self-destruct button for your browser. Just solid, practical fingerprint protection.
The Extension Already Packs a Punch
Anti-Fingerprinting is the new headline act, but the extension already does a ton of heavy lifting. It blocks ads and trackers before they load, spoofs your timezone, language and location so sites cannot pin you down, and shuts down WebRTC leaks that can reveal your real IP.
On top of that, you get Cookie Monster to automatically clear cookies when you leave a site, and Split Personality to rotate your user agent so websites cannot build a lasting profile.
Bottom line: the extension is a privacy multitool that makes browsing faster, cleaner, and a lot less creepy.
How to Use It
This new feature is currently available if you install via the Chrome web store.
- Update your Windscribe browser extension
- Crack it open and look for Anti-Fingerprinting in Privacy settings
- Flip the switch, and boom, you’re harder to track than a raccoon in a fireworks factory
Privacy Isn’t Optional Anymore
Fingerprinting is one of those things you don’t think about until it is too late. Advertisers already know you better than your therapist. Governments can tie your activity together across “anonymous” sessions. And your favorite “free” site? They are cashing in on your unique traits like a pawn shop with your grandma’s jewelry.
Windscribe’s Anti-Fingerprinting feature makes sure you are not the product. You are just another faceless user in the crowd, right where you belong.
TL;DR: We just made you harder to track. Update your extension, turn on Anti-Fingerprinting, and go forth into the internet with one less thing to worry about.
PS: Double the Protection with Desktop + Extension
Trust us - you need both.
The extension alone is great. Pair it with the Windscribe desktop app and you get the full fortress. The desktop app locks down your entire internet connection with VPN encryption and IP masking. The extension layers on privacy tricks like Anti-Fingerprinting, cookie cleanup, and location spoofing right inside your browser.
Together, they cover every angle. The desktop app protects your device and network traffic, while the extension makes sure your browser does not rat you out.