Hardening guides
Short, vendor-neutral fixes for every leak we test for. Pick the level of paranoia you can live with — even step 1 cuts most casual tracking.
Quick wins (5 minutes)
Install uBlock Origin essential
Blocks trackers, ads, and most fingerprinting scripts before they run. Free, open source, available for Firefox and most Chromium browsers.
Turn on HTTPS-only mode 1 click
Firefox: Settings → Privacy → HTTPS-Only Mode. Chrome: Settings → Security → Always use secure connections. Safari does it by default.
Block third-party cookies
The single biggest reduction in cross-site tracking. Already default in Safari and Firefox. In Chrome, Settings → Privacy → Third-party cookies → Block.
Auto-clear on close
Set your browser to clear cookies and site data when you quit. Use a password manager so this is painless.
Stop fingerprinting
Canvas & WebGL high impact
Use Brave with "Strict" fingerprinting protection, or Firefox with the CanvasBlocker extension. Tor Browser blocks both by default.
Font enumeration
Tor Browser bundles a fixed font set — sites can't probe what you have installed. Firefox has font.system.whitelist for the determined.
WebRTC IP leak critical for VPN users
Firefox: about:config → media.peerconnection.enabled → false. Chrome: install "WebRTC Network Limiter". Brave: Shields → Block fingerprinting.
Hardware specs
Firefox with privacy.resistFingerprinting=true spoofs cores, memory, and timezone. Note: it can break some sites — try it on a dedicated profile first.
Hide your IP
VPN
Pick a no-logs operator that has been independently audited. Mullvad, IVPN, and ProtonVPN are the usual recommendations. A VPN does not stop fingerprinting on its own — combine with the steps above.
Tor Browser strongest
Routes traffic through three relays and applies dozens of fingerprinting defences out of the box. Slower, occasionally blocked, but the gold standard for serious privacy.
Apple iCloud Private Relay
Built into Safari on iOS / macOS for iCloud+ subscribers. Hides your IP from the destination site without requiring trust in a single VPN provider.
Browsers worth considering
Firefox + arkenfox
Firefox with the arkenfox user.js hardening profile is a strong, customisable balance of privacy and usability.
Brave
Chromium-based with built-in tracker, ad, and fingerprinting blocking. The "Strict" fingerprinting setting actively randomises canvas and audio output.
Tor Browser
The only browser whose entire design goal is to make every user look identical. Use it when you need to be anonymous, not just private.
Mullvad Browser
Tor Browser's anti-fingerprinting tech without the Tor network — for use with your own VPN. Good middle ground.