Selenium Browser Fingerprint: Complete Guide to Automation Detection (2026)

Table of Contents

What Is a Selenium Browser Fingerprint?

A Selenium browser fingerprint is a collection of detectable characteristics that reveal when a
website is being accessed through Selenium WebDriver automation rather than a human using a normal browser. Websites
use these fingerprints to block bots, scrapers, and automated testing tools.

Selenium, while designed for browser automation and testing, leaves numerous traces that anti-bot systems can detect.
Understanding and concealing these fingerprints is essential for web scraping, automated testing, and any
Selenium-based automation.

How Websites Detect Selenium

1. WebDriver Property Detection

The most obvious Selenium indicator:

JavaScript Detection:

navigator.webdriver returns true in Selenium
Normal browsers return undefined or false
Single line of JavaScript detects Selenium instantly

Detection Code:

if (navigator.webdriver === true) {
    console.log("Selenium detected!");
    // Block or challenge the user
}

2. Chrome/ChromeDriver Properties

Selenium leaves specific Chrome automation markers:

window.chrome property exists in normal Chrome
Often missing or incomplete in Selenium
window.chrome.runtime detection
ChromeDriver-specific variables in JavaScript

3. Plugin and Extension Detection

Selenium browsers have unusual plugin configurations:

Different plugin count than normal browsers
Missing expected plugins (PDF viewer, etc.)
No extensions installed (normal users have 3-5 average)
navigator.plugins.length === 0 is suspicious

4. Language Properties

Language configuration differences:

navigator.languages vs navigator.language mismatch
Selenium often has empty or incorrect language arrays
Accept-Language header inconsistencies

5. Permission API Differences

Permission behavior reveals automation:

Permissions API responses differ in Selenium
Notification permission queries behave differently
Geolocation permission handling is inconsistent

6. User-Agent and Platform Mismatches

Inconsistent platform signals:

User-Agent claims Windows but navigator.platform says Linux
Headless Chrome identifiable through user-agent
Missing expected features for claimed platform

7. Behavioral Detection

Non-human interaction patterns:

Mouse Movement: Perfectly straight lines or no movement
Timing: Superhuman click/type speeds
Scrolling: Programmatic vs natural scroll patterns
Consistency: Identical timing across actions

8. Browser Fingerprint Peculiarities

Selenium-specific fingerprint characteristics:

Canvas fingerprints that match automation patterns
WebGL renderer strings revealing virtual/headless environments
Audio context showing automation
Screen resolution mismatches (window vs screen size)

Advanced Selenium Detection Techniques

CDP (Chrome DevTools Protocol) Detection

Selenium uses CDP for automation:

CDP runtime leaves detectable traces
Specific CDP calls create JavaScript artifacts
CDP-injected properties visible to websites

iframe Testing

Differences in iframe behavior:

Selenium handles iframes differently than browsers
contentWindow properties reveal automation
Execution context switching detectable

Performance Timing

Navigation and performance APIs show patterns:

performance.timing values unrealistic
Instant page loads impossible for real users
Missing intermediate timing events

Making Selenium Undetectable

Basic Selenium Stealth Techniques

1. Remove WebDriver Property (Chrome/Edge):

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.options import Options

options = Options()
options.add_argument("--disable-blink-features=AutomationControlled")
options.add_experimental_option("excludeSwitches", ["enable-automation"])
options.add_experimental_option('useAutomationExtension', False)

driver = webdriver.Chrome(options=options)

# Remove navigator.webdriver property
driver.execute_cdp_cmd('Page.addScriptToEvaluateOnNewDocument', {
    'source': 'Object.defineProperty(navigator, "webdriver", {get: () => undefined})'
})

2. Spoof User-Agent:

options.add_argument('user-agent=Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/120.0.0.0 Safari/537.36')

3. Use Stealth Libraries:

Install selenium-stealth:

pip install selenium-stealth

from selenium_stealth import stealth

stealth(driver,
    languages=["en-US", "en"],
    vendor="Google Inc.",
    platform="Win32",
    webgl_vendor="Intel Inc.",
    renderer="Intel Iris OpenGL Engine",
    fix_hairline=True,
)

Advanced Anti-Detection

1. Proper Window Size:

# Match common real user resolutions
driver.set_window_size(1920, 1080)

2. Add Human-Like Delays:

import random
import time

def human_delay():
    time.sleep(random.uniform(0.5, 2.0))

# Between actions
element.click()
human_delay()

3. Simulate Mouse Movement:

from selenium.webdriver.common.action_chains import ActionChains

actions = ActionChains(driver)
actions.move_to_element(element)
actions.pause(random.uniform(0.1, 0.5))
actions.click()
actions.perform()

4. Handle Cookies and Storage:

# Load cookies from real browsing session
cookies = json.load(open('cookies.json'))
for cookie in cookies:
    driver.add_cookie(cookie)

Limitations of Selenium Stealth

Even with all techniques, Selenium has fundamental limitations:

Persistent Detection Vectors

Browser Version Lag: Selenium WebDriver versions trail browser releases
CDP Traces: Chrome DevTools Protocol usage detectable
Behavioral Patterns: Perfect automation still looks robotic
Advanced Fingerprinting: Sophisticated anti-bot services detect stealth attempts

Sites with Strong Anti-Bot

Major platforms with advanced detection:

Google (reCAPTCHA v3): Behavioral AI analysis
Cloudflare: Advanced bot detection
PerimeterX, DataDome: Enterprise anti-bot services
Social Media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter all detect Selenium

Alternative Approaches to Selenium

1. Playwright (Better Stealth)

Modern automation framework with better stealth:

from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright

with sync_playwright() as p:
    browser = p.chromium.launch(headless=False)
    page = browser.new_page()
    page.goto('https://example.com')

Advantages over Selenium:

Better default stealth characteristics
Faster execution
Built-in network interception
More modern architecture

2. Puppeteer with Stealth Plugin

Node.js browser automation:

const puppeteer = require('puppeteer-extra')
const StealthPlugin = require('puppeteer-extra-plugin-stealth')
puppeteer.use(StealthPlugin())

const browser = await puppeteer.launch()
const page = await browser.newPage()
await page.goto('https://example.com')

3. Real Browser Automation (Send.win Approach)

Use actual browsers without automation markers:

Real Chrome/Firefox instances
No WebDriver property
No CDP traces
Authentic browser fingerprints

Send.win: Undetectable Browser Automation

For users who need Selenium-like automation without detection, Send.win provides a fundamentally
different approach.

Send.win’s Advantage Over Selenium

Real Browser Instances:

Send.win runs actual Chrome browsers, not WebDriver-controlled instances:

No navigator.webdriver property
No ChromeDriver artifacts
No CDP detection vectors
Indistinguishable from human browsing

Authentic Fingerprints:

Each browser profile has genuine fingerprints:

Real Canvas, WebGL, Audio fingerprints
Proper plugin configurations
Authentic browser properties
Passes all detection tests

Automation Capabilities:

While Send.win focuses on multi-account management, it enables automation through:

Session persistence (stay logged in)
Profile sharing with automation tools
API for programmatic control
Cookie and credential management

Selenium vs Send.win Comparison

Aspect	Selenium (Stealthed)	Send.win
Detection Risk	Medium-High	✅ Very Low
Setup Complexity	High (code + stealth)	✅ Simple (no code)
Fingerprint Quality	Synthetic	✅ Authentic
Scalability	Limited by resources	✅ Cloud-based (unlimited)
Maintenance	Constant updates needed	✅ Automatic
Use Case	Testing, scraping	✅ Multi-account + automation

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Selenium ever be truly undetectable?

No. Selenium’s architecture requires WebDriver, which sophisticated detection systems can identify. However, stealth
techniques work against basic detection on many sites.

Is using undetectable Selenium legal?

Using automation tools is legal. However, using them to violate website Terms of Service or scrape copyrighted
content may have legal consequences.

What’s the best Selenium stealth library?

For Python: selenium-stealth or undetected-chromedriver. For JavaScript:
puppeteer-extra-plugin-stealth.

Why do websites block Selenium?

To prevent: automated account creation, scraping copyrighted content, ticket/product sniping, DDoS attacks,
fraudulent activities.

Can I use Selenium for social media automation?

Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn aggressively detect and ban Selenium. Professional tools like Send.win
are necessary for reliable automation.

Conclusion

Selenium browser fingerprints reveal automation through numerous technical markers. While stealth techniques help,
sophisticated detection systems can still identify WebDriver-based automation.

For users requiring undetectable browsing for multi-account management or sensitive automation,
Send.win’s real browser approach eliminates detection risks entirely while providing professional
fingerprint management.

Try Send.win’s free demo and experience truly undetectable browser automation without Selenium’s tell-tale
fingerprints.

Related Resources

Explore more guides on browser privacy and multi-account management: