javascript - how can i track users without cookies - Stack Overflow

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ok... im looking to have a good round of brainstorming here...

say i was google... the adword/adsense/analytics division. i would be getting a little worried about the future, when users start to disable cookies (or at least delete them on a regular basis), use private browsing, roam on multiple devices. how could google alternatively track users without the benefits of cookies?

some ideas to get started (please elaborate on these and any others):

-track users using some other persistent local/client side storage

-use user-agent string fingerprinting

-test cache response - if user 304's an image, they were here

-track mac address

-any random/out of the box ideas?

ok... im looking to have a good round of brainstorming here...

say i was google... the adword/adsense/analytics division. i would be getting a little worried about the future, when users start to disable cookies (or at least delete them on a regular basis), use private browsing, roam on multiple devices. how could google alternatively track users without the benefits of cookies?

some ideas to get started (please elaborate on these and any others):

-track users using some other persistent local/client side storage

-use user-agent string fingerprinting

-test cache response - if user 304's an image, they were here

-track mac address

-any random/out of the box ideas?

• javascript
• session
• browser
• cookies

Share Improve this question Follow asked Dec 14, 2010 at 5:45 user406905user406905 1,4181515 silver badges1616 bronze badges 3

• 7 How about if people go out of their way to disable cookies, let them have their privacy? – gdj Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 5:48
• 1 "im looking to have a good round of brainstorming here" Then this probably isn't the place. SO isn't a discussion forum. Perhaps http://programmers.stackexchange., which has a different focus. – T.J. Crowder Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 5:52
• I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because this is not displaying personal previous research as required by SO. Also it does not address a specific question about programming with a closed answer; it is promoting "open debate" which is against SO rules. – Xavi Montero Commented Jun 8, 2017 at 12:46

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5 Answers 5

Sorted by: Reset to default 3

Take a look at http://samy.pl/evercookie/, it's a JS API for ultra-persistent cookies, but you can take idea(s) from it's mechanism to find storage for your data.

I think you could do it using custom urls. You would basically ecrypt a cookie and attach it as part of the URL you send to the browser. When it returns, your web server would be smart enough to decode it and track whoever sent it.

I believe the Spring framework can do this in fact.

If your site requires user tracking, then I would have it fail to work if cookies are disabled. Then focus your time and effort on making it a fantastic site for the vast majority of your visitors, and don't worry about the ones who, for whatever reason, have made the explicit decision to disable cookies.

(Made this a CW answer because this is a subjective question that's likely to be closed.)

1. Information about browser/system/display through js and IP of cause;
2. Java Applet provide a lot of info about user;
3. Flash also (e.g. installed fonts);
4. Modern browsers also provide a lot of information about users (e.g. installed extensions) and provide new ways to save information on client-side (e.g. html5 storage). altogether: http://panopticlick.eff/

you can always resort back to good ol way, the HIT COUNTER.

1. on page, use tag and link to external image on your server
2. on your server, when image is fetched, redirect it to php script through .htaccess and record header info about device id etc. {similar code as disabling the hotlinking of image}
3. Now you have all info, use php_session() to keep a track of it

you can always use js for the same purpose, but using tag will ensure that js is not required and the script will run on all browsers

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