How to Block “Your Device Use” (Device Attributes) Globally in Google Chrome

The Hardware Profiling Vector

Google Chrome supports a highly invasive architecture known as the Device Attributes API (often labeled as “Your device use” in settings). By default, this protocol allows enterprise administrators or specialized web applications to request direct access to low-level hardware identifiers, such as your machine’s exact serial number, directory IDs, or asset tags. While designed for corporate IT departments managing massive fleets of Chromebooks, it is a catastrophic privacy vulnerability on a personal computer. Malicious websites can exploit this API to scrape your unique hardware signatures, allowing them to persistently track your physical machine across the internet, completely bypassing standard cookie clearing or IP address changes. You must paralyze this API.

How to Block Device Attributes Access Globally

You can permanently sever the browser’s ability to broadcast your hardware serial numbers via Chrome’s Site Settings.

1. Open the Google Chrome desktop browser.
2. Click the three vertical dots (⋮) in the top right corner and select Settings.
3. In the left-hand sidebar, click on Privacy and security.
4. In the main window, click on Site settings.
5. Scroll down to the “Permissions” heading and click to expand Additional permissions.
6. Click on Your device use.
7. Under the “Default behavior” heading, select the radio button for “Don’t allow sites to know when you’re actively using this device” (and effectively block hardware attribute querying).

Total Cryptographic Anonymity

The change takes effect instantly. Google Chrome will completely sever its internal connection to your operating system’s hardware enumeration daemon. The browser is now permanently barred from reading your motherboard’s serial numbers or asset tags. If an untrusted website attempts to execute a script to fingerprint your physical hardware, the API call will instantly auto-reject in the background, returning a null value. This guarantees absolute hardware isolation, ensuring that your physical machine cannot be uniquely profiled by third-party tracking networks.