Device fingerprinting is a method to identify a device using a combination of attributes provided by the device configuration. It is a way to identify someones device using information related to its software and hardware, allowing you to reach conclusions about their intentions, as well as track their activity. Device fingerprinting analyzes users configurations of software and hardware, creating a unique ID for each configuration, in order to recognize connections. Device fingerprints can include many different signals picked up from the device, such as device OS type, browser type, phone brand, screen resolution, and memory size. Unlike web cookies that are stored client-side, device fingerprints need to be stored server-side, in a database. Device fingerprinting can be used to stop fraudsters from attempting to hack, break into, or spam websites, as well as offer detailed insights into any customer thats coming onto your website.
Some examples of device fingerprinting include:
- Minimalistic: These are based on a few phone features, such as device OS type, browser type, phone brand, etc. .
- Evolved: These include detecting jailbroken devices, rooted devices, or emulated devices.
- Complex: These include the use of signatures on hardware components such as the screen resolution and memory size.
Device fingerprinting provides added protection against the most commonly used fraud methodologies. To implement these device-level checks, businesses have to use fraud-prevention solutions that are resilient against many different kinds of spoofing.
