[tor-bugs] #14429 [Applications/Tor Browser]: Automated rounding of content window dimensions

[Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki]

#14429: Automated rounding of content window dimensions
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 Reporter:  arthuredelstein                      |          Owner:
                                                 |  arthuredelstein
     Type:  defect                               |         Status:
                                                 |  needs_revision
 Priority:  Medium                               |      Milestone:
Component:  Applications/Tor Browser             |        Version:
 Severity:  Normal                               |     Resolution:
 Keywords:  tbb-fingerprinting-resolution, tbb-  |  Actual Points:
  torbutton                                      |
Parent ID:                                       |         Points:
 Reviewer:                                       |        Sponsor:
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Comment (by gk):

 Replying to [comment:140 cypherpunks]:
 > I don't think automatic rounding is sufficient, it tends to give very
 high scores on panopticlick. I

 Don't use Panopticlick for that as its results are skewed, see #6119 for
 why. So, the high scores don't mean anytihng in the Tor Browser context.

 > think people should be prompted to choose between a few very common
 resolutions (1366x768, 1920x1080, etc) instead

 That is not going to fly as almost no user knows their screen resolution.
 And users might not even know the difference between 1366x768 and
 1920x1080. So, what I would expect is users coming back to us with things
 like "You broke Tor Browser on my computer as I can't see the URL bar
 domain anymore". That does not scale.

 > this will fit the needs of more users (who want to use tor browser on
 larger screens) while reducing identifying information - on a 1080p
 screen, there are 9 * 5 different sizes a tor browser window could be -
 take out the really tiny ones, and you're still left with a good 20 or 30
 possible sizes. Instead, you could just pick between the five or so most
 popular browser window sizes, as per
 https://hardware.metrics.mozilla.com/. you could even do both - on lower
 security levels, use automated rounding, on higher security levels, pick
 between only a few resolutions.

 No. The security slider is no privacy slider. Every user gets the same
 privacy features but users with a different threat model are given the
 option to adapt the security of their browser by choosing an appropriate
 level on the slider. We won't mix both.

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Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/14429#comment:141>
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