Visitor identification is the practice of recognising a returning user without requiring a login or relying on cookies or other persistent storage. Fingerprinting techniques derive a stable identifier from the browser or device itself, enabling recognition even after cookies are cleared or in private-browsing sessions.
Most traditional visitor identification relies on a first-party cookie set on the first visit and read on return visits. This approach is simple but depends on the user not clearing cookies and not switching to a different browser or private mode. When storage is unavailable or cleared, the cookie-based identifier is gone.
Fingerprint-based visitor identification computes the identifier from observable characteristics of the browser or device, rather than from stored data. Because the computation uses the same inputs each visit, it produces a consistent result without writing anything to storage, making it resilient to cookie deletion and incognito mode.
In doorman-benny
doorman-benny supports visitor identification by returning both a browser-level `fingerprint` and a hardware-bound `hardwareFingerprint`, giving integrators a stable signal for recognising visitors across sessions and browsers.
Fingerprint vs cookies vs IPFrequently asked questions
How does fingerprint-based visitor identification compare to cookies?
Cookies are stored values that disappear when cleared; fingerprints are computed fresh from the browser or device on each visit. Fingerprints are more persistent but probabilistic, while cookies are exact but fragile. Production systems often combine both for best coverage.
Does visitor identification work across different browsers?
Engine-bound signals, like canvas rendering, differ between browsers on the same device, so a browser fingerprint alone cannot link visits across browsers. Hardware-bound signals stay consistent across browsers, enabling cross-browser visitor identification on the same physical device.
Is fingerprint-based visitor identification affected by ad blockers?
Some ad blockers or privacy extensions interfere with specific fingerprinting signals, but a well-designed system uses multiple independent signals so that blocking one does not eliminate the identifier. The affected signals may also produce a detectable pattern of their own.
