Device Name

1. What is Device Name in Browser Fingerprinting

The device name (sometimes referred to as device model or device information) is a fingerprint signal representing the specific hardware identifier of a user’s device.

While not directly exposed through a single JS property, several browser APIs and system interfaces commonly reveal device names or can be used to reconstruct them:

• navigator.userAgentData, when available, exposes platform, model, and deviceMemory via the User-Agent Client Hints API.
• WebGL / GPUInfo APIs can sometimes be used to correlate expected performance with known device names.
• MediaDevices (e.g., cameras/microphones enumeration on mobile) can show manufacturer-specific names or model labels when accessed.
• navigator.platform and navigator.deviceMemory also inform device identification strategies.

Combining this data helps detection platforms infer identifiers like:

"iPhone13,2", "SM-G991U", "Pixel 5", "iPad7,4", "[object Navigator]"

This can be critical in tracking returning users or tagging traffic sources to known devices, especially in biometric KYC, app authentication, or device verification systems.

2. How Platforms Detect Device Name Fingerprints

Leading anti-fingerprinting platforms extract device name data in multiple ways:

1. User-Agent and User-AgentData API: On Chromium-based browsers, platforms use userAgentData.model, userAgent.clientInformation and system access to infer the name of physical devices.
2. MediaDevice Enumeration: On permission-granted devices, logging MediaDeviceInfo.label from cameras and microphones can reveal the device vendor and model string (e.g., "front-facing camera of SM-G991U").
3. Accelerometer + Sensors: Some systems correlate sensor values derived from mobile-specific functions with known device specs to confirm device authenticity or identify configuration overrides.
4. GPU and Rendering Chain Correlation: When extracting WebGL GPU data, operating system, and browser render output, detection engines build composite device fingerprints to guess known device names.
5. Device Memory and Hardware Tier Signaling: Under navigator.deviceMemory, browsers may expose 4GB/8GB/16GB device capacity clues — often used to classify desktop vs. mobile hardware, and differentiate actual device from emulated environments.

Companies that track device-based ID reuse, especially mobile networks and app-authentication APIs, frequently use device name signals to verify ownership consistency, prevent device impersonation, or identify virtual environments.

3. How FlashID Masks Device Name Fingerprints

FlashID subverts device name fingerprint detection by spoofing and isolating all major device signature sources that support device model inference.

Key approaches include:

1. Injected DeviceName Protections: FlashID injects and intercepts access to the User-AgentData API, fabricating model, platform, and vendor responses that align with the user’s intended locale and user agent mask.
2. MediaDeviceInfo Masking: When enumerating cameras or mics, FlashID fakes the label and groupId fields to hide the real device name that could be derived from native access.
3. navigator.deviceMemory Simulation: Device memory is falsified within allowed ranges (4GB, 8GB, 16GB), enabling you to align fingerprint properties with spoofed device expectations.
4. Comprehensive Hardware Profile Consistency Checks: FlashID automatically reconciles spoofed GPU, OS, screen size, and device memory to generate realistic device names – such as "Pixel 6a" or "iPad8,1" – that match session characteristics.
5. Device Type Switching: Users can choose between mobile, tablet, desktop, or virtual types, with FlashID adapting all associated interface properties to avoid mismatches.
6. Hostname & Branding Randomization: Device name can be coupled with spoofed manufacturer names, (e.g., "Google" for Android, "Apple" for iOS), and branding strings during TLS stack and certificate inspection.
7. Profile Persistence: FlashID remembers device name configurations across sessions, so returning users maintain the same spoofed characteristics to appear as consistent devices — not clones.

By manipulating the device name fingerprint intelligently, FlashID enables safe module reuse with dramatically reduced duplication or ban risks, allowing you to manage multiple browser-based user identities securely and effectively.

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