Traced: A Real-Time Browser Fingerprint Detection and Spoofing Extension for Chromium
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Browser fingerprinting has emerged as the dominant tracking mechanism on the modern web, replacing cookie-based tracking as privacy regulations and browser restrictions have made cookies increasingly difficult to deploy. Unlike cookies, fingerprinting requires no storage on the user's device and cannot be cleared by the user. This paper presents Traced, a Chromium browser extension that detects fingerprinting attempts in real time and actively spoofs browser APIs to feed trackers false data. We describe the architecture, the APIs intercepted, the spoofing methodology, the whitelist system for trusted sites, and the results of testing against the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Cover Your Tracks fingerprint evaluation tool. Traced is freely available on the Chrome Web Store at https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/traced/pjkgmpckbccpakebjhaijdbboplahpgo
Author: williams, jonathan
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7162128022
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