Evercookie

Evercookie (also known as supercookie) is an open-source JavaScript application programming interface (API) that identifies and reproduces intentionally deleted cookies on the clients' browser storage. This behavior is known as a zombie cookie. It was created by Samy Kamkar in 2010 to demonstrate the possible infiltration from the websites that use respawning. Websites that have adopted this mechanism can identify users even if they attempt to delete the previously stored cookies.

In 2013, Edward Snowden leaked a top-secret NSA document that showed Evercookie can track Tor (anonymity networks) users. Many popular companies use functionality similar to Evercookie to collect user information and track users. Further research on fingerprinting and search engines also draws inspiration from Evercookie's ability to track a user persistently.

In the late 2010s, most modern browsers have implemented ways to get rid of evercookies with minimal manipulation, notably closing the evercookie tab and then clearing website data in the browser.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.