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[SITUATION] · [QUIET] · [TECHNOLOGY]

2 clusters · 11 sources · 3 days · First seen 16 days ago · Last updated 13 days ago

AliExpress audio fingerprinting discovery

Overview

Developer Matt Callaghan discovered that AliExpress uses audio fingerprinting to track users by utilizing the Web Audio API. The technique involves generating a silent sawtooth wave through a gain stage set to zero, allowing the platform to create unique digital fingerprints based on how specific hardware processes the sound.

This method enables AliExpress to identify returning users for targeted marketing even if they reject or delete cookies. The tracking is achieved through hidden scripts, such as collina.js and fireyejs.js, which are embedded within Alibaba’s anti-bot suite. By capturing hardware-dependent execution artifacts, the platform can build detailed device profiles alongside other data from Canvas rendering, WebGL, and WebRTC behavior. Because the audio is silent, the process remains undetectable to users regardless of system volume settings.

Entities

Matt Callaghan · Alibaba · AliExpress · Brave

Timeline

13 days ago

[TECHNOLOGY] 4 sources
AliExpress discovered using audio fingerprinting to track users
AliExpress was found using audio fingerprinting to track users by playing silent sounds to identify devices, bypassing traditional cookies to enable targeted marketing.
16 days ago

[TECHNOLOGY] 7 sources
AliExpress caught using audio hardware for silent device fingerprinting
Developer Matt Callaghan discovered that AliExpress uses silent audio hardware fingerprinting to track users and identify devices without the use of cookies.

Sources

chip.cz · fehmarn24.de · hna.de · infoq.com · leinetal24.de · op-online.de · ruhr24.de · svetapple.sk · tz-online.de · vat.pravda.sk · zive.aktuality.sk