The New Online Bypass
Project details
- Year
- 2023
- Programme
- Bachelor – Graphic Design
- Practices
- Autonomous
- Minor
- Digital Craft
The New Online Bypass aims to inform spectators with various levels of technological understanding about the complex digital infrastructure of browser fingerprinting: a method used to collect metadata about a user without needing the user’s consent. As the name suggests, the act of browser fingerprinting takes place on browsers (Safari, FireFox, Chrome, etc.). Examples of collected metadata are attributes such as timezone, content language, user agent and fonts installed on the user’s computer. Although it may sound like general information, by placing these different bits together, advertisers are still able to track and target. Browser fingerprinting can be seen as : it works its way around the current privacy laws.
I aim to learn about digital infrastructures and simplify its complexity to others in a functional and informative way. In The New Online Bypass, my aim is to open up the specific black box of browser fingerprinting in technology and explain its operation to people with various levels of understanding in this subject. Methods like these are not widely known or discussed, but are very present and possibly problematic.
Want to drink a coffee while chatting about my project(s) or art and design in general? Get in contact!