More private UserAgent

A Former User

Hello,

Opera Android user agent is too precise. I was blocked on Qwant in the past because of that and they want to keep eye on privacy.
It shows Android version, build, tablet/phone model, etc....No! Even behind a VPN it's so precise I can be recognize.

leocg

leocg Moderator Volunteer @Guest

@daxorp Opera's user agent shows the same that 9 out of 10 other browsers' user agents show.

A Former User @leocg

@leocg And? I guess you find this is a good reason to continue. Not me.

leocg

leocg Moderator Volunteer @Guest

@daxorp Your post made it seems that you think that only Opera's user agent send all that info, and I'm telling that it's not true.

Also, user agent has nothing to do with privacy. User agent serves for a site to identify the browser, on what OS that browser is running and what device is being used, so the site can adapt to it.

User agent don't send any personal information, don't let any site know that daxorp is the one accessing at that moment.

Private user agent doesn't really make any sense to me but there are apps out there claiming that they can change user agents. Maybe you can use one of them.

A Former User @leocg

@leocg No my post does not seems like that.
Yes it is very important for privacy, it sends a lot as I have written. My tablet model IS a personal information.

There's one app for Chrome only, for rooted devices.
If you want good examples, Firefox never sends you Android version, phone model, etc... and Via is only 0.5MB and allow to choose different user agent or modify it.

.
(~~I notice that the 2d point of my post was deleted...~~ OK, only moved, sorry.)

leocg

leocg Moderator Volunteer @Guest

@daxorp Your tablet model is not part of your privacy.

Regarding the user agent apps, a search for it in Play Store returned lots of results but I didn't really looked at each one to see what they do.

Just tested here and yes, Firefox send your Android version in UA.

Anyway, if you want I cam move this topic to the Suggestion and Feature Request one and, maybe, some day they will add a way to change the user agent.

A Former User @leocg

@leocg Everything private is privacy.... Your tablet model, your address, the name of your cat... If anyone else has a Opera 51 on T725 tablet, this is event a personal identifier.

The other user agent apps are browsers.
Firefox shows only Android version:
Mozilla/5.0 (Android 7.1.1; Tablet; rv:68.0) Gecko/68.0 Firefox/68.0
versus:
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 9; SM-T725 Build/PPR1.180610.011) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/72.0.3626.121 Safari/537.36 OPR/51.0.2461.137246

It's like writing my name. As I said, Opera was even blocked on Qwant because user agent is too much detailed. This is more than a suggestion for me, closer to a bug revealing too much about us.

sgunhouse

sgunhouse Moderator Volunteer

Actually if you select "Request desktop site" it should identify as Opera on Linux.

leocg

leocg Moderator Volunteer @Guest

@daxorp Your tablet model is not private.

And no, it's not a bug.

A Former User @sgunhouse

@sgunhouse yes but it does not keep the setting between pages, and I will seen desktop version.

@leocg you should take a dictionary! It's not the general opinion. Even google's one, and not a specialist of privacy!

"Chrome wants to kill browser user agent strings, cites compatibility and privacy concerns
A win for privacy? Google plans to scrap user-agent string in Chrome
Google plans to improve privacy by deprecating user-agent strings on Chrome The change will make it harder for ad companies to track individuals online.
..."

Indicate your OS, hardware, browser, version... is private, as your address, the name of your cat, the model of your car, your name, everything about YOU is private because it's about you.
Here it's even a way to identify you, it's important to hide it and be more general like Firefox does.

More a security hole than a bug if you prefer.

leocg

leocg Moderator Volunteer @Guest

@daxorp Yes, There is a flag for testing in desktop version but, at least for now, it causes more trouble than it brings benefits because it will take a long time for sites to start changing it.

And I still think that It has nothing to do with privacy or security.

adnanck919

adnanck919

hi. no i think this is not a bug . and hope its solved already. was facing the same here.