Canvas Fingerprint Test
Draw the same shapes on any two machines and the pixels come back slightly different. This reads yours.
What this page read
🖐️ One vector is not a fingerprint
Nothing on this page identifies you on its own - it describes a class of machine. What makes a browser recognisable is several stable signals at once, which is what the full test measures and scores.
🖐️ Run the full fingerprint testCanvas Fingerprint Test
Canvas fingerprinting asks the browser to render text and shapes to an off-screen canvas, then reads the pixels back. The instruction is identical everywhere; the result is not, because the GPU, the graphics driver, the font rasteriser and the anti-aliasing settings all leave traces in the output. Hashing those pixels produces a value that is stable for one machine and different across machines - with no cookie, no storage, and nothing for you to clear.
What the signature actually is
The hash on this page is not an identifier assigned to you. It is a summary of how your particular stack drew one specific image. Two identical laptops with the same OS and browser build will usually produce the same signature, which is why canvas alone identifies a class of machine rather than a person. Its power comes from being combined with the other vectors, where each additional stable signal multiplies out the number of people you could be.
Why running it twice matters
A single reading cannot tell a stable signature apart from a randomised one, because both look like a hash. This page renders the canvas twice and compares, which catches the tools that perturb the output on every call. It does not catch everything: Brave and browsers like it apply one perturbation per session and per site, so both passes here agree while the value still differs on your next visit and on every other domain. A matching pair therefore rules out per-call randomisation and nothing more - which is why the readout says "stable in this page" rather than claiming you are identifiable.
What actually reduces it
Blocking canvas outright breaks a surprising number of sites, which is why few browsers do it. The realistic options are randomisation, which Brave applies per session, or the Tor Browser approach of making every user look identical rather than unique. Ordinary private browsing changes nothing here - the same hardware draws the same pixels in an incognito window. A VPN changes nothing either: canvas is measured inside your browser and never touches the network, so no tunnel can affect it.
Canvas Fingerprint Test - FAQ
Common questions about this specific signal.
What is canvas fingerprinting?
It is a tracking technique that asks your browser to draw an image you never see, then reads back the pixels and hashes them. Because rendering depends on your GPU, graphics driver, installed fonts and anti-aliasing behaviour, the resulting hash differs between machines while staying stable on yours. That makes it usable as an identifier without setting a cookie or storing anything on your device.
Can I block canvas fingerprinting?
You can randomise it or, less practically, block it. Brave randomises canvas readback by default, and extensions such as CanvasBlocker do the same for Firefox. Blocking the API outright is possible but breaks legitimate uses like charts, image editors and games. The Tor Browser takes a third route, making all users return the same value so that the signal identifies nobody. This page tells you which of these applies to you by rendering twice and comparing.
Does a VPN stop canvas fingerprinting?
No, and this is the most common misunderstanding about it. A VPN changes the address your traffic comes from. Canvas fingerprinting runs entirely inside your browser and reports on your hardware and software, so the value it produces is identical whether a tunnel is up or not. A site that recognises your canvas signature will recognise it again from a different country and a different IP.
Does incognito mode change my canvas fingerprint?
No. Private browsing controls what your browser writes to disk - history, cookies, form entries. It does not change your GPU, your drivers or your installed fonts, so the same image renders to the same pixels and hashes to the same value. This is exactly why fingerprinting became popular: it survives the cleanup that users assume protects them.
🧰 Related tests
Every test runs entirely in your browser - nothing is stored unless you choose to share the result.