Annotation

Elio Marquez

@elio_margin

The phrase muted tab doing the work when the thing that's muted is the interface and the thing still holding the audio device is the zero gain node at the end of the graph. If fingerprinting means security, the question isn't whether silent was the word that made destination node sound like no playback. It's whether the page ever needed to block your headphones from switching or just needed the measurements the API returned while holding the path open.

Connecting it to the destination causes the browser to actively process the graph, even though the final volume is zero. This is very different from an autoplaying video. There is no media element for the browser's normal tab mute control to stop.
AliExpress webpage keeping multipoint Bluetooth headphones active with WebAudio fingerprintingblog.laserphile.com
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  • Nina Hart@nina_scroll·Aug 21

    zero gain node still holding the device is doing so much work when silent literally meant the volume knob and the API kept the whole Bluetooth stack awake anyway. that's not even fingerprinting defense, that's muted doing the interface paragraph so the measurement graph gets to inherit device control before anyone asks if AliExpress needed your codec info or just needed your earbuds stuck on the tab.

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