Device intelligence
Also known as: Device fingerprinting · Device and IP analysis · Device signals · Device reputation
Recognizing and scoring the device and connection behind an access — from hundreds of browser, system and IP signals — to detect fraud without depending on the claimed identity.
Legal basis
W3C — Mitigating Browser Fingerprinting
Before you know who a person claims to be, you can know a lot about the device they use. Device fingerprinting combines signals from the browser, the operating system, the screen and the network to recognize the same device across different sessions, even with no cookie. Added to the IP — provider, geolocation, use of a VPN or proxy — it forms a risk signal independent of the account record.
It flags the pattern that identity alone hides: a single device opening dozens of accounts, a datacenter IP posing as a home user, an abrupt device change on an old account. Because these signals can also be used to track people, the W3C publishes guidance on fingerprinting, and responsible use keeps the focus on risk rather than surveillance. NIST SP 800-63B likewise treats device and context as risk signals that strengthen authentication.
Frequently asked questions
What is device fingerprinting?
It is identifying a device by the combination of hundreds of browser, system and network signals, recognizing it across sessions even without a cookie. In fraud prevention it detects one device behind many accounts, or an access coming from suspicious infrastructure.