Browser Privacy | Cookieless Tracking - ETag

published 2022-04-17 · updated 2022-08-22 #cookies #browser #privacy #security
Cookies may be on their way out, but tracking users is not. As with most thing, if one method gets restricted companies always seem to find another way.

Firefox Users

For some reason, I wasn't able to get Firefox to send a blank header even with the Empty header mode enabled. Perhaps it's something with the browser. As a workaround, enter a space in the Value box once you get to step 5. Click the Value box, and hit your space bar once. After that, everything should work as expected. If you know why it's not working, please [reach out]({{< ref "contact/index.md" >}}).

How to send an empty 'If-None-Match' HTTP header

  1. Download and install the extension/add-on ModHeader for your browser (links below)
  2. After the install has completed, click the icon in the menu bar.
  3. Click the + and click Request Header.
  4. In the Name box enter If-None-Match. Since we want to send an empty header, leave the Value box empty (Firefox users enter a space).

In order to send an empty header, we much enable the option in the extension/add-on.

  1. Click the 3 vertical dots in the top right corner of the extension/add-on settings box.
  2. Scroll to the bottom where you will see the heading Empty header mode.
  3. Select the Send empty header option.

Your configuration should look similar to the following image: Browser Privacy Cookieless Tracking ETag - ModHeader Config

At this point your browser is now configured to send an empty If-None-Match HTTP Header. To test, visit the follow URL - https://hinternesch.com/page1.html. If everything is working as expected, you should see Your ID is . if you see something else, then it's not working as expected.