What is an antidetect browser?

An antidetect browser is a specialized web browser that masks or randomizes identifying attributes (such as user‑agent strings, canvas/WebGL fingerprints, and IP addresses) so each session appears as a distinct, generic user.
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Related terms: Browser fingerprinting | Bot detection | Bots | Web scraping

What is an antidetect browser?

An antidetect browser is a custom web browser built to conceal or randomize identifying attributes that sites use to distinguish one user from another.

Beyond the usual privacy measures (like incognito mode or manual cookie clearing), these browsers dynamically spoof dozens of fingerprinting vectors, such as:

  • The user-agent string
  • Screen dimensions
  • Installed font lists
  • Canvas and WebGL renderings
  • Timezone

Each browsing session is presented to the websites you visit as a generic, unremarkable user, preventing persistent identifiers from being stitched together into a consistent fingerprint.

Designed for scenarios where both privacy and covert automation are critical, antidetect browsers often include:

  • Profile management
  • Integrated proxy support
  • API-driven automation hooks
By isolating sessions and randomizing environment details, they bypass sophisticated tracking systems that go beyond IP-based blocking.

 

How do antidetect browsers work?

Antidetect browsers layer several techniques to break the linkability of successive visits:

Isolated profiles

  • Separate storage: Each profile has its own cookie jar, cache, localStorage, and sessionStorage.
  • Independent sessions: Login credentials, browse history, and service workers are sandboxed per profile.

Fingerprint spoofing

  • User-agent and headers: Randomize browser version, platform, and accepted languages.
  • Canvas and WebGL: Inject controlled noise or entirely replace render outputs from a fingerprint library.
  • Fonts and plugins: Advertise a curated subset of installed fonts or plugins to mimic popular, non-unique setups.
  • Other APIs: Manipulate time zone, device orientation, and other JavaScript-accessible properties.

Integrated proxy management

Profiles can be bound to distinct proxy servers (residential, mobile, datacenter). Requests route through the proxy, so sites only see the proxy’s IP and geolocation.

Granular controls let you import, export, whitelist, or entirely isolate cookies and local data per profile. This prevents leaked artifacts from revealing links between profiles.

Automation and API hooks

Built-in APIs or Selenium-like endpoints allow programmatic profile creation, launch, navigation, and teardown, which are all essential for scaling up automated workflows safely.

What are antidetect browsers used for?

Multi-account management

Antidetect browsers allow you to create and control dozens or hundreds of isolated identities so you can manage multiple social media, ecommerce, or service accounts without cross-account linkage or simultaneous-login flags.

Web scraping and automation

You can use antidetect browsers to evade advanced anti-bot defences. By rotating profiles, fingerprints, and proxies, even large-scale web scrapers can retrieve data without triggering CAPTCHAs or account blocks.

Online privacy and research

Journalists, security researchers, and privacy advocates can use antidetect browsers to simulate real-world conditions, audit fingerprinting techniques, or simply avoid pervasive cross-site tracking.

Antidetect browser challenges and limitations

The technical arms race

Fingerprinting is a moving target: as sites deploy new detection vectors (e.g. audio, battery, WebRTC leaks), antidetect browser developers must continuously update their spoofing libraries .

Security risks

Unvetted antidetect tools may bundle malware, exfiltrate profile data, or introduce vulnerabilities under the guise of privacy. So you should always choose reputable vendors. (See our list of the top antidetect browsers for up-to-date recommendations.)

Depending on jurisdiction, spoofing identifiers can fall into a gray area or even be illegal if used for fraud. Ethical use cases (privacy, testing) coexist with illicit ones (account takeover, spam), so be mindful of policies and regulations.