Understanding Chrome's User-Agent Shift: What It Means for Your Site

Many people have noticed that the User-Agent of the Chrome browser is becoming increasingly “simplified.” Some information that used to be clearly visible in the UA is now either blurred or completely removed.

This is actually a planned strategic adjustment by Chrome, and it directly impacts the entire logic chain of browser fingerprint parameters, browser fingerprint identification, and browser fingerprint detection.

Today, from a practical perspective, let’s talk about: what exactly has changed in the User-Agent of the new versions of Chrome, and why UA parsing now must be considered together with browser fingerprinting.

I. Why Did Chrome “Cut Down” the User-Agent?

Traditional User-Agent strings contained a large amount of information. On one hand, this made website adaptation easier; on the other hand, it greatly increased the uniqueness of browser fingerprint parameters.

Simply put, it was “too easy to be identified.”

Therefore, starting from Chrome 90+, Google has been gradually promoting the User-Agent Reduction (UA Reduction Plan), with only one core goal:

👉 Reduce the accuracy of passive browser fingerprinting.

II. Key Changes in the User-Agent of New Versions of Chrome User-Agent 

1️⃣ Browser Version Numbers Are Weakened

Previously, you could see something like: Chrome/114.0.5735.110 in the UA.

In newer versions of Chrome, in many scenarios only the major version number is retained, while minor and patch versions are no longer exposed.

This has a significant impact on scripts that rely on precise version detection.

2️⃣ Operating System Information Becomes More Vague

In the past, UA strings commonly included details like: Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64.

In newer versions of Chrome, the recognizability of OS versions has been significantly reduced, and some detailed information can only be obtained through new APIs.

This also means that it is now very difficult to accurately distinguish user environments based solely on User-Agent parsing.

3️⃣ The Difference Between Mobile and Desktop Is Reduced

Previously, it was easy to distinguish Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS at a glance through the UA.

Now Chrome tends to return more “generalized” identifiers, reducing differences between platforms.

This also introduces new challenges for mobile SEO and responsive layout detection.

III. User-Agent Is No Longer Enough — Browser Fingerprint Parameters Are Key

Has the UA become “useless”? Not entirely, but it is no longer the core basis for browser identification.

Current mainstream detection logic relies more on a combination of:

•  Canvas fingerprints

•  WebGL parameters

•  Font lists

•  Timezone and language

•  Hardware concurrency

These are collectively referred to as browser fingerprint parameters. As a result, browser fingerprint identification has gradually shifted from a “supporting role” to a “primary role.”

IV. Why Must Browser Fingerprint Detection Be Considered Together?

This is also the most easily overlooked consequence of Chrome’s UA adjustments.

Less UA information ≠ browsers no longer expose information. It simply shifts from “plain text strings” to more hidden dimensions.

What truly determines whether an environment can be identified now is the complete set of browser fingerprint parameters, including but not limited to:

•  Canvas fingerprints

•  WebGL rendering information

•  Font fingerprints

•  Hardware concurrency

•  Timezone and language

•  AudioContext parameters

Individually, these data points may not seem sensitive, but when combined, they can form a highly stable browser fingerprint identification result.

V. User-Agent Parsing + The Real Relationship with Browser Fingerprint Parameters

In simple terms: User-Agent is only one part of browser fingerprinting, and its weight is becoming smaller and smaller.

In new Chrome environments, even if you are using a completely normal UA, if:

•  Canvas fingerprints are duplicated

•  WebGL parameters are abnormal

•  Font lists do not match the real operating system

You can still be easily flagged during browser fingerprint detection. Therefore, the more reasonable approach today is:

•  Use UA for basic judgment

•  Use browser fingerprint identification for final validation

Only by combining both can you align with the current mainstream identification logic.

VI. How to Quickly Check Your Fingerprint Exposure?

If you want to know:

•  What the actual UA returned by Chrome looks like

•  Which browser fingerprint parameters are exposed

•  Whether your fingerprint has high uniqueness

The most straightforward way is to run a professional detection tool.

You can directly use the ToDetect Fingerprint Query Tool, which allows you to view at once:

•  Actual User-Agent parsing results

•  Whether browser fingerprint detection items are abnormal

•  Fingerprint stability and risk level

This is very intuitive for troubleshooting environment issues and validating configuration effects.

Summary

In modern Chrome environments, User-Agent is no longer the core basis for determining browser environments. What truly determines identification results is the complete set of browser fingerprint parameters.

In practice, it is recommended to treat User-Agent parsing and browser fingerprint identification as a unified whole.

By combining this with detection tools such as the ToDetect Fingerprint Query Tool to clearly understand what information is exposed, many issues will naturally become clear.