I have been testing Tor Browser and Mullvad Browser using fingerprint.com. I get unique persistent identifiers that are unique per machine and persist over rebooting sessions. Javascript was on during this test.
This could be very dangerous to people using Tor Browser and Mullvad Browser.
For example, if someone visits Rainbow Railroad, an organization for leaving repressive countries with hostile LGBT policies, and then watches a video about the organization on YouTube, and then also does something, like create a Discord Server, and use Tor Browser to get around geoblocking but link it to their personal phone number, then a hostile regime buying data from data brokers could possible determine that user is considering using rainbow railroad. Even if this exact example isn’t realistic or plausible (although governments do buy form data brokers), users should be aware that persistent identifiers in Tor Browser and Mullvad Browser allow for continuous tracking of a user using the same machine.
I posted this information on privacyguides forum and they deleted my account after, leading me to wonder if the forum is a giant honeypot that curates acceptable privacy discussions and unacceptable private discussions. I honestly wonder if they are infiltrated by the government. They repeatedly delete the posts of other people as well and the whole thing is starting to not sit well with me.
Skepticism is good here. However, I was not able to replicate this. On Mullvad and Tor, with “Safer” settings, both gave me a new ID after a browser restart.
Then this may be happening only with certain distributions or operating systems. It is definitely happening for me, I checked it over and over. “You have visited once.” I close Tor Browser, restart, come back to fingerprint.com. “You have visited twice.” I also did try this with safer. I did multiple tests. This impacts at least some operating systems or distributions. It may not impact Qubes. I didn’t test that, but I am sure it impacts at least some users.
You need to change the safety setting to “safest”.
This is why some onion sites constantly popup warnings in JS and annoy you until you make the change.
Safest is fine for .onions. For most of the Internet, this won’t work. And Mullvad Browser, which is often not used with .onions, copies the main architecture of Tor Browser minus the routing.
If all users have the same fingerprint then nobody is getting fingerprinted.
All users don’t have the same fingerprint. Fingerprint.com is testing other things that Tor isn’t covering. So if they are testing canvas and other stuff that Tor protects, and 2 things that aren’t protected that give unique identifiers, they still create a unique hash. I did not test this using Tails or Qubes and it may not affect all operating systems.
You also didn’t test it in safest mode. Do it again with tor browser not in insecure mode
Safest mode blocks any website with javascript and most of the Internet runs on javascript. They also don’t warn users that anything other than safest mode now is entirely identifiable based on fingerprinting.
Yes, it’s by design. You should probably read this https://mullvad.net/en/browser/mullvad-browser
They have different unique hashes per computer, so Tor Browser user on “Computer 1” has a unique hash and Tor Browser user on Computer 2 has a unique hash. I have read Mullvad’s documentation on their browser. Please re-read the original post.
“Javascript was on during this test.”
I understand: Javascript is not safe. I know that. But most of the internet, except for onions, use javascript and it’s nearly impossible to use most of the Internet in web browsers without it. The problem is that if Fingerprint.com can reliable detect differences between users when javascript is on for Mullvad Browser and Tor Browser in certain operating systems, users should be aware. Most people would think Mullvad Browser in “safer” mode would not create a persistent per-computer hash of the browser that can be tracked across sessions.
Using JavaScript defeats the purpose of Tor
If you want to do any browsing other than .onions, javascript is required. Tor Browser is supposed to be anti-censorship and anti-tracking and that it isn’t really possible for Tor Browser to access 99% of the Internet without javascript.
Also, the Tor organization is not telling people that they can be uniquely tracked when not in safer mode, and Mullvad Browser is copying most of Tor Browser but not including Tor routing in it and many people using Mullvad Browser use javascript.
It’s important that people know this and the fact that I’ve had such a hard time posting this in different places, and have been met with such suspicion and hostility, is sus and makes me wonder if certain people want these browsers trackable. It’s fucking nuts to me that privacyguide’s forum deleted multiple posts and my mother fucking username after I posted about this. What else other than it being a controlled operation explains that? And plenty of other people have complained about similar shit!
Privacy Guides is definitely over moderated. They might be infiltrated.
It feels like it to me. It seems more than just aggressive or vigilant modding.
Wonder why privacyguides deleted the post
Whenever someone says they had a moderator action taken against them, I am suspicious. Some mod teams are notorious, sure, but it’s almost always a case of unreliable narration.
I imagine behavior like the allcaps reply above had something to do with it.
Most likely 3 letter agencies are raising flags to get it deleted, and mods seeing the reports just ban without thinking.
I sadly think this is what’s happening and even wonder if some forum mods or people there are intelligence. Because why else would this shit keep happening? Privacyguides also has a sketchy origin story if you look far back enough. The really fucked up thing is they are the most well respected guide to privacy and constantly push 3 VPNs, including ProtonVPN after it was blatantly leaking, and it just really makes me wonder… why do they push those 3 VPNs so hard? In theory, they are good VPNs… but what if they are good and also being pushed for a reason? Almost every good independent VPN gets bought out. Half of the VPNs seem to be owned by Kape, AzireVPN got bought out by a US Company. It seems like fewer and fewer VPNs exist that don’t have either intelligence connections or links to privacyguides forum. I just don’t like it. I don’t trust privacyguides anymore.
Other users on privacyguides forums have commented on the exact same problem where threads are just completely deleted, even with valid questions.
