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In the early days of the internet, websites didn't care which browser you used, since most pages were static. But today's dynamic websites often adapt to whatever operating system, browser, or screen size your device is using.
They usually do this via a piece of text called a user agent. So, let's see what a user agent is, what it does, and how you can trick your browser into impersonating another browser or device.
What is a user agent?
A user agent is a string (line of text) that your browser sends to websites when you visit them. Basically, it serves to tell the website that you are using the Chrome browser on Windows 10, for example.
If you want, you can see your user agent by visiting a site likeWhat is my browser?.
User agents are important because websites can use them to change the content they send to your browser. For example, if you visit most modern websites in Internet Explorer 6, you'll see a message that you need to update your browser for proper compatibility. User agents also come into play when browsing on a mobile device, so websites know they are viewing the mobile-friendly version of a page.
It turns out that your user agent is not persistent. It's easy to change if you know where to look, and some extensions let you change it with just a few clicks.
How to change your user agent
Let's see how to change your user agent in major browsers. This allows websites to trick you into thinking you are on a different type of computer or browser.
Change your user agent to Chrome
Open Chrome Developer Tools by right-clicking anywhere and selectingCheck, takeCtrl + Shift + I, or pressF12.
At the bottom of the resulting panel, you will see a tabbed sectionconsole,network conditions, zwhat's new🇬🇧 PressEscto show it when you don't see it.
nonetwork conditionstab, disableselect automaticallyand then you can select a new user agent from the list. Refresh to refresh the page with the new agent.
Note that these settings return to their normal state when you close the developer panel and only apply to your current tab.
Please refer to the official Google for more information.User Agent Switch for Chrome Extension🇧🇷 This way you can easily change your user agent and configure certain websites to use a different user agent all the time.
Change your user agent to Firefox
The process of changing your user agent in Firefox is cumbersome as you have to manually insert a new user agent string. It's better to use a plugin to easily change your user agent.
User Agent Switch by Alexander Schlarbit is well reviewed and easy to use.
Switch your user agent to Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Edge uses a configuration similar to Chrome to change its user agent. PressF12or right click on an empty spot on the page and selectcheck Itemto open the developer tools window.
Select the in the top barEmulationTab --- You may need to click the drop down arrow to see if it is hidden.
Here you change theUser agent stringBox to trick the site into thinking you are something else. you can change toobrowser profileoutsideWorkplacetowardswindows phoneto view the mobile version of the websites. As with Chrome, this only applies to the current tab while the developer tools panel is open.
Unfortunately, there are no extensions that simply change your user agent to the current version of Edge. Hopefully, when Microsoft's revamped browser comes out, that will change.
Change your user agent to Safari
You must enable the hidden Develop menu in Safari before changing your user agent. visit for thisSafari > Preferencesand go toProgressiveab.
Activate the check box marked withShow Develop menu in menu bar.
then selectDevelop > User Agentand choose the option you want. Safari still lets you chooseMiscellaneousto specify your own user agent string.
Request desktop website on Android and iPhone
While there's no quick switch to changing your user agent in the mobile versions of Chrome and Safari, you can easily trick websites into thinking your phone is a computer.
On Android, open Chrome and tap on the three dots iconMenubutton in the upper right corner. check thedesktop websiteand it will reload to display the full version.
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No Safari for iOS, tap NoAAto the left of the address bar and selectRequest desktop version🇧🇷 You can find the same option in Chrome for iPhone by tappingPull apartin the top right corner, then scroll down and selectRequest desktop version.
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Reasons to change user agent
Now you know how to make websites think you're on another device. But why change your browser's user agent when you can just install a different browser?
Here are some situations where changing your user agent can be fun, useful, or practical.
1. Website development
When you're developing a website (or learning about website development), it's important to make sure your website looks good and works properly in multiple browsers. While Agent Switching can't cover every possible real-world situation, it does allow you to perform some basic functions in a fraction of the time.
Maybe you can try Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Internet Explorer yourself. But what if you don't have a Mac to run Safari or a tablet to test the mobile versions of the site?
If backward compatibility is important to your site, moving your user agent to IE 8 is much easier than manually installing a copy from older browsers.
Whether for efficiency reasons or because you don't have some of the devices you need to test your website, this method makes it easy to see how your website looks in different browsers.
2. View mobile websites on metered connections
On many websites, the mobile version offers a reduced amount of content to reduce data usage for mobile users. While we've discussed what the full desktop site looks like on a mobile browser, it's not that common to see desktop sites offering their mobile versions.
By changing your user agent to act like a mobile browser, you can force that change next timeUse your phone as a mobile hotspotor working on a restricted connection. Browsing mobile versions of pages means you only get the basics and don't waste data on multimedia or other large elements.
3. Bypass browser restrictions
Although not as common as it used to be, you will sometimes come across websites telling you that Firefox doesn't work with the site or that you should use Internet Explorer or other similar warnings. If you know the site works fine in whatever browser you use, you can change your user agent to force the site without having to switch browsers.
Note that changing your user agent doesn't actually change the software you're running, it just changes what your browser tells the website. So this doesn't work if a site is really IE just because it uses archaic ActiveX controls or something. However, it is unlikely that you will find such sites today.
4. Better compatibility with the operating system
Another unusual reason for switching user agents appears in reviews of switching user agent extensions. Some people claim that they use these services to bypass websites that block entire operating systems.
While there's no good reason for a website to block an entire operating system, you might find a site complaining about using Linux. In this case, simply say that you are using Internet Explorer and the site will think that you are using Windows.
This can also be useful if you are using an outdated operating system. the alembicUsing an obsolete browser on Windows XPYou will probably see notices on most websites that your browser is no longer supported. With Windows 7 lagging behind, even the major browsers won't support it anymore.
We recommend upgrading to a modern operating system as soon as possible. But in the meantime, you can try changing your user agent to squeeze a bit of life out of your current system.
5. See a different perspective and have fun
Bored of the above options? In that case, you can still use the agent switch just for fun.
If you've always used Windows, you can browse some websites and see if they look different using Mac or Linux. Or downgrade your user agent to an older version of Internet Explorer and see how many sites still support it. What kind of messages do they show and how many prevent you from using the outdated browser?
Some browser change agents even allow you to impersonate Googlebot, the robot that Google uses to crawl and index the web. It might be interesting to see what content the pages deliver to the bots!
Seeing the web from a different perspective can be fun from time to time, even if you don't get much practical use out of it.
Cheat sites with a new user agent
We've seen how you can make your browser pretend it's something else by changing its user agent. While it's not something you'll probably need to do often, it does come in handy sometimes.
Note that the user agent is not the only way to identify your browser, so websites can still tell what you are actually using. While it's fun to fool websites, it's not a real privacy measure.
For a more in-depth way to protect yourself online,You should start using a VPNif you haven't already.