this post was submitted on 18 Sep 2023
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Privacy
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but where do extensions come into the picture? i apologize if i’m missing something obvious here, but the only thing that article says about extensions is that blocking specific trackers counts as fingerprint data. but the VAST majority of my extensions aren’t blocking anything, they just customize the pages
Having more extensions makes your browser fingerprint more unique, making it easier to tell you apart from other users.
i’m comprehending that much, but i don’t understand how extensions “announce” themselves to the websites (except for content blockers). does my browser send a number corresponding to the amount of extensions i have installed? or are they listed out individually by hash or name?
Not necessarily announce their existence. There's some way for websites to communicate with extension like explained here. IMO, a sufficiently motivated actor can use this to add additional data point for fingerprinting.
Although most of the methods are only applicable if you're using Chrome or Chromium based browsers and Firefox has disabled the methods commonly used to extract information from the browser.
that is a great relief to hear, thank you :)