What is my WebGL renderer?
See your WebGL renderer and vendor string, revealing your GPU to websites. A strong fingerprinting signal, explained. Nothing uploaded.
Your WebGL renderer and vendor strings are shown above. WebGL is the browser technology that lets pages draw hardware-accelerated 3D graphics, and to do that it exposes details about your graphics processor. The renderer string often names your actual GPU, something like a specific integrated or discrete graphics chip.
This is one of the more revealing things a browser hands out, because the exact GPU model plus its driver quirks is far less common than a browser name. It is a headline example of how a feature built for capability (running 3D) doubles as a fingerprinting surface.
There is also WebGL fingerprinting proper, where a script renders a hidden 3D scene and reads back tiny rendering differences that vary by GPU and driver. The renderer string is the visible part; the rendering test is the subtler one, and both feed device identification.
What you should know
Why sites collect it
Legitimately, games, 3D viewers, map engines and creative tools read the GPU string to choose effects your hardware can handle and to work around known driver bugs. Fingerprinting scripts collect it because it is unusually distinctive.
Privacy implications
The WebGL renderer is a high-entropy fingerprinting signal. Naming your specific GPU narrows your device considerably, especially combined with screen and OS. Because of this, privacy browsers mask or generalise the renderer string, and some block the identifying extension entirely.
How to change or hide it
Privacy browsers like Tor Browser and Brave can spoof or block the WebGL renderer so it reports a generic value or nothing. You can disable WebGL in some browsers, though that breaks legitimate 3D content. Blending in with a common value is usually better than a unique one.
Frequently asked questions
Why can a website see my graphics card?
WebGL exposes a renderer string so 3D content can adapt to your hardware. That same string often names your GPU, which is why it is a strong fingerprinting signal.
How do I hide my WebGL renderer?
Use a privacy browser that masks or generalises it, such as Tor Browser or Brave with fingerprint protection. Disabling WebGL entirely also works but breaks 3D content.