1.1.0

useThisHook v1.1.0

Released: 2026-10-06
npm: usethishook@1.1.0
Compare: v1.0.0...v1.1.0

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Highlights

This minor release adds useFingerprint: a typed, zero-dependency hook that builds a client-side visitor id from browser signals. No API key, no network request, and not the commercial Fingerprint Identification product.

Use it for anonymous personalization hints, correlating sessions without cookies, or lightweight abuse signals — treating the id as a hint, not a hard identity.

Live demo & API: usethishook.mentorbridge.in/useFingerprint

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Added — useFingerprint(options?)

Signature

useFingerprint(options?: { enabled?: boolean }): {
  visitorId: string | null;
  components: FingerprintComponents | null;
  isPending: boolean;
  error: Error | null;
  refresh: () => Promise<string | null>;
}

Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
enabled	boolean	true	When false, skip auto-run on mount; call refresh() yourself.

Return values

Field	Type	Description
visitorId	string | null	Hex hash of collected signals, or null before the first successful run.
components	FingerprintComponents | null	Named browser signals that went into the hash.
isPending	boolean	true while identification is running.
error	Error | null	Set when collection throws unexpectedly.
refresh	() => Promise<string | null>	Re-run identification; returns the new visitor id (or null).

Exported types

• UseFingerprintOptions
• UseFingerprintReturn
• FingerprintComponents

Signals collected (into components, then hashed):

• Environment: userAgent, language, languages, platform, timezone / offset
• Display: colorDepth, screenResolution, availableScreenResolution
• Device: deviceMemory, hardwareConcurrency, touch support / maxTouchPoints, pdfViewerEnabled
• Storage / privacy: sessionStorage, localStorage, indexedDB, cookieEnabled, doNotTrack
• Graphics: canvas data URL, WebGL vendor/renderer string

Hashing uses an FNV-1a–style 32-bit hex id (FingerprintJS-style client hash). Collection yields one tick so canvas/WebGL work does not block the current frame. Concurrent / unmounted runs are ignored via a run-id guard. On the server (window missing), refresh() returns null.

Example

import { useFingerprint } from 'usethishook';

export const VisitorBadge = () => {
  const { visitorId, isPending, error, refresh } = useFingerprint();

  if (isPending) return <p>Identifying…</p>;
  if (error) return <p>Could not fingerprint: {error.message}</p>;

  return (
    <div>
      <code>{visitorId}</code>
      <button type="button" onClick={() => void refresh()}>
        Refresh
      </button>
    </div>
  );
};

Deferred start

const { visitorId, refresh, isPending } = useFingerprint({ enabled: false });

// later, e.g. after consent:
await refresh();

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Important caveats

• Client-only fingerprinting. Identical or locked-down browsers can share or churn ids.
• Not Fingerprint Identification (SaaS). No cloud matching, no API key, no network.
• Privacy-focused browsers may reduce entropy — treat visitorId as a soft signal.
• Playground may also use separate commercial Fingerprint wiring for the site itself; that is not part of the usethishook package API.

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Docs & playground

• New Browser catalog entry for useFingerprint
• Live demo, copy-paste example, and full API reference page
• Sitemap / SEO coverage for the new hook route

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Upgrade

npm i usethishook@1.1.0

• From 1.0.0: additive only — no breaking API changes in the published hook surface.
• Requires React 18+ (peer), Node ≥ 20 for tooling/publish (unchanged).

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Links

• Changelog
• npm package
• Playground
• Contributing

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Out of scope for this npm release: usethishook-mcp is still listed under Unreleased in CHANGELOG.md (separate MCP package). Vercel Analytics / Speed Insights are playground-only and do not ship inside usethishook.