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submitted 16 hours ago by someone@lemmy.today to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

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.

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[-] someone@lemmy.today 4 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

They have different fingerprints PER COMPUTER without any plugins other than default of No Script. I tested this, it is not the same hash for every computer. It varies per computer and was persistent across sessions.

[-] bad_news@lemmy.billiam.net 2 points 15 hours ago

Are you testing windows v linux? Tor browser started reporting itself as Linux on Linux.

this post was submitted on 24 Mar 2026
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