News

Improved support for mobile devices

CrowdMe now automatically selects a browser resolution based on your device. Sessions started from displays narrower than 1000 pixels use a smaller browser resolution that is better suited for phones and tablets.

The session toolbar now lets you switch between 1920×1080 and 1280×768, and between horizontal and vertical orientation at any time during the session.

A new KB button makes it easy to open the on-screen keyboard on mobile devices whenever text input is needed.

CrowdMe can now also be installed as a Progressive Web App (PWA). This adds a CrowdMe icon to your phone or tablet and opens the service without the normal browser tabs and address bar, giving more screen space to the remote browser.

Since browser screen resolution and orientation are among the characteristics that may be used for browser fingerprinting, different combinations can produce different browser fingerprints.

Testing browser fingerprints

One of the easiest ways to understand CrowdMe is simply to test it yourself. Open CrowdMe from different devices—for example a phone, tablet and desktop computer—and compare the results using the tools below.

FingerprintJS generates a browser fingerprint from commonly available browser information. In our tests, CrowdMe produced the same visitor identifier regardless of whether the session was started from an iPad, laptop or desktop computer. This shows that, according to FingerprintJS, different devices present the same browser identity when using CrowdMe.

Different privacy tools use different approaches. Some attempt to reduce fingerprinting by varying browser characteristics between sessions. CrowdMe instead starts every session from the same browser template, allowing users to verify that consistency for themselves. FingerprintJS is only one fingerprinting method, however, and other websites may use additional techniques.

BrowserLeaks lets you inspect exactly what information your browser exposes, including WebGL, Canvas, fonts and many other browser properties. It is useful for understanding what websites can actually see and why different fingerprinting methods may reach different conclusions.

Cover Your Tracks, developed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), estimates how trackable your browser appears compared with other visitors. Rather than producing a single fingerprint, it explains which browser characteristics contribute to browser fingerprinting.

No single fingerprinting tool tells the whole story. FingerprintJS provides an easy way to compare browser identities, while BrowserLeaks and Cover Your Tracks help explain what information websites can observe and why different fingerprinting techniques may produce different results.

Try the tools yourself:
• https://fingerprintjs.github.io/fingerprintjs/
• https://browserleaks.com/
• https://coveryourtracks.eff.org/

Improved clipboard support

CrowdMe has been updated to the latest version of noVNC, bringing improved clipboard support between your local computer and the disposable browser.

You can now copy text from the remote browser to your local computer, and also send text from your local computer to the remote browser using the noVNC Clipboard panel.

Open the side menu in the browser window, select Clipboard, paste or type the text you want to send, then use the normal paste command (Ctrl+V or the application's Paste menu) inside the remote browser or desktop.

Screen resolution changed

After feedback that text looked blurry on some displays, the default session resolution has been changed to 1920×1080.

Firefox Sponsored Shortcuts have also been turned off.

Beta started

CrowdMe.One has entered a beta period.

Free test tokens are being handed out to gather feedback and improve the service before a wider release.