The short answer
Fingerprint scores a visitor and stops there. DataCops acts on the verdict, keeps risky signups away from your ads, and tracks the sale that comes after.
DataCops is a tool for the ad side of signup fraud: it gives every visit a bot verdict, checks each signup email, keeps flagged signups from reaching your ad platforms, sends the real sale back to the click, and lets you warm up new campaigns with your existing customers.
How DataCops does it:
- Bot filtering before anything is sent. Every visit gets a verdict against 360+ billion IPs, with a Real people only switch per ad platform, so fake signups never become conversions your ads learn from.
- Email check. Throwaway and disposable providers, domains with no mail server and an email risk score. With LeadCops (Business and up), a lead that fails is held and never billed.
- SignupCops. Holds risky signups back from the ad platforms and keeps the ad click through Sign in with Google.
- The sale after the signup. Trials, paid plans and won deals go back to Meta, Google Ads, TikTok and LinkedIn: HighLevel natively, any CRM by webhook, Shopify through the DataCops Shopify app, matched to the click.
- Ads Warmup. Upload your existing paying customers (up to 20,000 rows), see a 0 to 10 match score per person, and send them to Meta, Google Ads and TikTok so new campaigns start warm.
- First-party collection, consent and proof. One script and one DNS record on your own domain, a TCF 2.2 consent banner, a server-set cookie up to 400 days where enabled, and a delivery log row for every send.
Best for: ad-funded SaaS and lead gen teams, agencies, and anyone whose signups come from paid campaigns and whose fakes are polluting the ads.
The alternatives at a glance:
- DataCops: best if fake signups are hurting your ads. SignupCops holds them back and keeps the ad click through Sign in with Google.
- Castle: best for scoring logins and signups in a SaaS app.
- SEON: best for a full fraud platform with payments and AML.
- Verisoul: best for stopping fake accounts and multi-accounting.
- ThumbmarkJS: best for a cheap browser ID, the closest direct swap.
Most people looking for a FingerprintJS alternative have one of two problems. Either the API bill grows with every call, or the score arrives and nobody has built what should happen next.
Every FingerprintJS alternatives list compares ID accuracy. Few ask what the ID is for. If you run ads, the answer is usually simple: you want fake signups out, and real ones credited to the right ad.
A score is not a decision
Here is how a fraud API works. A visitor signs up. Your code calls the API. The API returns a visitor ID and a risk score. Then it stops. Blocking, flagging, and keeping that signup away from Meta is your code, your rules, your team.
And one thing never happens at all: the ad platforms never hear about it. Your pixel already told Meta a signup came in. Meta counts it, learns from it, and goes looking for more people like it. A bot farm that passes as a lead is a bot farm your ads now target.
A fraud API also works per check. It answers one question, once, at the moment you ask. It does not follow the visitor from the ad click to the signup to the sale. So each answer stands alone, and you pay for each one.
That is the slice problem. A fraud API sells one step of the chain, the check. The chain is longer: the click, the visit, the verdict, the signup, what the ads are told, and the sale weeks later.
What SignupCops does instead
SignupCops holds risky signups back from the ad platforms, so Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, LinkedIn, Microsoft Ads, Reddit, Pinterest and X learn from real users only. It also keeps the ad click through Sign in with Google, the step where most signup tracking loses the click. No scoring code to write, no rules to maintain.
To be fair: Fingerprint goes much deeper. Device intelligence (tamper, emulator, virtual machine and incognito signals), account takeover, payment fraud, promo abuse and manual review. DataCops does none of that. If those are your problems, keep a fraud tool.
A fraud API tells you the signup looks fake. DataCops makes sure your ads never learn from it.
The real difference: from signal to tracking
Here is what that means in practice, one job at a time.
Every visit gets a verdict, and the verdict does something
Fingerprint returns Smart Signals like VPN, bot and suspect score through its API. Your code reads them.
DataCops checks every visit for bots, datacenter traffic, VPNs and proxies, and turns it into one switch per ad platform (see click fraud protection). Turn on Real people only for Meta and flagged visits never reach Meta. It is off by default, and when on it keeps about 99% of bots out. One honest note: events from your CRM carry no bot flag.
One lead, on its way to MetaThe ad click survives Sign in with Google
When a user signs up with Google, they leave your site and come back. Most tracking loses the ad click on the way. A fraud API does not try to keep it; that is not its job.
SignupCops keeps the click through the Google sign-in, so the signup is credited to the ad that brought it. Risky signups are held back from the ad platforms.
Conversions go server-side from your own domain
Fingerprint does not send conversions. DataCops sends them server-side from your own subdomain to Meta, Google Ads, TikTok and LinkedIn, not from a third-party pixel. Click IDs are kept 90 days and visitors remembered up to 400 days (with consent in the EU). Google Ads actions are created as secondary, so nothing changes your bidding until you choose.
Consent is built in
We found no consent manager on Fingerprint's pricing page. DataCops includes a first-party consent manager built to the IAB TCF v2.2 standard. Google Consent Mode v2 is on by default, the banner shows in Europe by default, and the server checks consent again before every send.
You can see why each event was sent
DataCops writes every conversion as a row per platform (sent, held, skipped or failed) with the reason next to it. The click log in first-party analytics shows what happened to each ad click. Each signup carries one event ID, so it is counted once even when the browser and server both see it.
On the Organization plan, two more tools work on paid clicks. Cloudflare edge blocking stops flagged traffic before it loads your page, and Google refund evidence exports the last 60 days of invalid clicks as a CSV for Google's Click Quality Form. Google decides the refund.
Privacy and deletion are built in
Visitors can ask for deletion through a form on your privacy page: they confirm by email, their session is anonymised, and a status page shows what was done. Deletion requests from Meta, TikTok and LinkedIn are handled automatically; Google Ads deletions are still manual. Click IDs, sessions and the click log are deleted after 90 days, and the identity store holds hashed emails and phones only.
Fingerprint knows the device. DataCops knows what your ads should learn.
The real cost of a $99 API
The real cost is everything you build around the calls. Answer these with your own numbers.
How many hours will it take to build your API calls, risk rules, pixel blocking and ad conversion setup before the first sale is tracked?
How many hours a month will someone spend keeping it working when Meta, Google or TikTok change something?
If a tag breaks quietly for a week, how many leads never reach your ads? And what is one lead worth to you?
How many sales a month close in your CRM that your ads never hear about?
The last question matters most. When ads learn from fake signups, they find more fake signups. Cost per real user climbs, and nothing in the fraud dashboard tells you why.
Catching a fake signup is half the job. Keeping it out of your ads is the other half.
Every feature, side by side
Every DataCops feature against what Fingerprint offers for the same need.
 DataCops |  Fingerprint | |
|---|---|---|
| Visitors and signups | ||
| Bot handling | Verdict per visit, Real people only per platform | Bot signal through the API, your code decides |
| Risky signups kept from ads | SignupCops holds them back | Not built in |
| Ad click through Sign in with Google | Kept by SignupCops | Not built in |
| Device intelligence | Bots, datacenter, VPN, proxy per visit | Persistent visitor ID plus tamper, emulator, VM, incognito, velocity signals |
| Mobile apps | Websites only | Android and iOS SDKs, 500K Android calls free |
| Ad tracking (Fingerprint does not track ads) | ||
| Server-side conversions | From your subdomain to Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, LinkedIn, Microsoft Ads, Reddit, Pinterest, X | Not built in |
| Click IDs and visitor memory | Click IDs 90 days, visitor cookie up to 400 days | Not built in |
| Click log | In first-party analytics | Not built in |
| Delivery log with reason | Per row: sent, held, skipped, failed | Not built in |
| Meta health restrictions | Health mode | Not built in |
| Warm up ads with past customers | Ads Warmup, up to 20,000 rows | Not built in |
| CRM and agencies | ||
| CRM stages to ad platforms | HighLevel native, any CRM by webhook | Not built in |
| Agencies with many clients | Agency board | Not built in |
| Privacy and legal | ||
| Consent manager | Built in, IAB TCF v2.2 | Bring your own |
| Visitor deletion requests | Self-serve form, email confirm, status page | Not listed on its pricing page |
| How long data is kept | Click IDs, sessions, click log: 90 days | 30 days, 90 on Enterprise |
| Setup and price | ||
| Install | One script, one DNS record | SDK, API calls and your own code |
Different units: a DataCops session is one visit; a Fingerprint call is one API request. Fingerprint column checked on fingerprint.com/pricing, 2 October 2026. "Not built in" means we found no such feature there.
The 5 FingerprintJS alternatives compared
| Best for | Keeps fakes from ads | Ad tracking | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DataCops | Ad-driven signups | Yes | Yes |
 Castle | SaaS login and signup risk | No | No |
 SEON | Full fraud platform | No | No |
 Verisoul | Fake accounts | No | No |
 ThumbmarkJS | Cheap browser ID | No | No |
1. DataCops: best if fake signups hurt your ads
DataCops is the tracking solution for ad-funded businesses: it keeps bots out of what your ads learn from and sends the sale that happens after the form to Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, LinkedIn, Microsoft Ads, Reddit, Pinterest and X. It is not a fraud API. It is the tracking layer that fraud APIs leave out. Every visit gets a bot verdict, risky signups are held back from the ad platforms, the ad click survives Sign in with Google, and the sale in your CRM goes back to the ad that earned it.
Why people switch to it
- No scoring code to write
- Ads learn from real people once Real people only is on
- Conversions and CRM stages included
- Consent manager built in
Worth knowing
- Real people only is off until you switch it on
- Edge blocking and refund evidence are on Organization
Best for: teams whose point in catching fakes is keeping them out of their ads.
2. Castle: best for SaaS login and signup risk
Castle scores logins and signups for bots, abuse and account takeover. Every plan includes bot and VPN detection and abuse scoring.
Why people switch to it
- Built for login and account takeover
- Simple per-call price
Worth knowing
- Short retention below Enterprise
- Still a score your code acts on
Best for: teams more worried about account takeover than ad data. See our Castle alternatives.
3. SEON: best for a full fraud platform
SEON uses 1,000+ device and online signals and covers payments and AML. Starter includes 10 users and 50 custom rules. Premium adds unlimited checks and case management. It is a bigger tool for a bigger fraud problem.
Why people switch to it
- Payments and AML in one place
- Case management on Premium
Worth knowing
- High entry price
- Nothing for ad tracking
Best for: businesses whose main problem is payment fraud. See our SEON alternatives.
4. Verisoul: best for fake accounts
Verisoul targets fake accounts, repeat signups, multi-accounting and bots. Starter is dashboard only with no API. Higher tiers add the API, and add-ons cover face match, ID and phone checks.
Why people switch to it
- Focused on multi-accounting
- Identity add-ons
Worth knowing
- Priced per monthly active user
- No API on Starter
Best for: stopping one person from running ten accounts. See our Verisoul alternatives.
5. ThumbmarkJS: best cheap browser ID
ThumbmarkJS is the closest direct swap for FingerprintJS. The open-source version runs in the browser at about 80% uniqueness by its own numbers; the API claims about 99%.
Why people switch to it
- Very low price
- Open source option
Worth knowing
- Just an ID, no risk decisions
- Everything after the ID is your code
Best for: a cheap visitor ID when that is all you need.
Other tools in this space: Arkose, Sift, IPQualityScore, reCAPTCHA and Rupt.
How to choose a FingerprintJS alternative
Pick DataCops if
- You run Meta, Google Ads, TikTok or LinkedIn and fake signups skew what they learn.
- You lose the ad click when users sign up with Google.
- You want conversions, consent and CRM sales in one tool, without writing code.
When not to use DataCops
- You need visitor identification for fraud inside your app. Account takeover, payment fraud, promo abuse, multi-accounting and manual review are what Fingerprint, Castle, SEON and Verisoul are built for. DataCops does none of that.
- You need mobile SDKs. Fingerprint has Android and iOS SDKs. DataCops is for websites and ad platforms.
- You only want a free browser ID. The open-source FingerprintJS library or ThumbmarkJS cover that.
- You do not run paid ads. If fakes are not reaching an ad platform, a fraud API alone may be all you need.
What's your actual goal?
Nobody wants a visitor ID for its own sake. If you run ads, you want five things:
- Keep bots and fake signups out, of your data and your ads.
- Credit every real signup to the right ad, including Sign in with Google.
- Send conversions to your ad platforms, so Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, LinkedIn, Microsoft Ads, Reddit, Pinterest and X learn who is real.
- Include the sales that happen later, in your CRM or on a call.
- Stay compliant, with consent checked and data deleted on request.
Fingerprint helps with part of the first one. The rest is yours to build. Here is the same goal, done both ways.
The traditional way, with Fingerprint
- Add the SDK to your site and apps.
- Call the server API on every signup.
- Write rules for what score blocks or flags.
- Keep the ad pixel from firing on flagged signups.
- Build click ID capture that survives Google sign-in.
- Set up conversion APIs for each ad platform.
- Buy a consent banner and wire it in.
- Connect your CRM to send later sales.
- Pay per call, and maintain all of it.
With DataCops
- Add one script and one DNS record.
- Connect each ad platform with one click.
- Switch on SignupCops and Real people only.
- Switch on the consent manager.
- Connect HighLevel or your CRM webhook.
Then run your business. Verdicts, click IDs and delivery to each platform are handled for you.
Fingerprint gives you a signal. DataCops gives you the tracking that acts on it.
Why people leave Fingerprint
Fingerprint is good at what it does. People leave for reasons around the ID, not in it.
- The score needs code. Every decision, block, flag or hold, is logic your developers write and maintain.
- Short memory. Data is kept 30 days on Free and Pro Plus. 90 days needs Enterprise.
- The first-party proxy costs extra. Proxy integrations for Cloudflare, AWS, Azure, Akamai and Fastly are Enterprise only.
- The ads never hear about it. It does not track ads, so a flagged signup still reaches Meta through your pixel.
- The open-source version is weaker. Its own README says browser-only IDs are much less accurate and can be faked.
Offline conversions: the sale after the signup
A real signup is still not a sale. For many businesses the money comes later, in a CRM or on a call. A fraud API never sees that moment. DataCops sends it back to your ads.
| Business | What the pixel sees | What DataCops adds |
|---|---|---|
| B2B and SaaS | Signup, demo request | Real signups only, then qualified, trial, paid by webhook |
| Agencies running client ads | Form fills per client | Every client's booked, showed, won and paid |
| Clinics and services | Booking form | Booked, showed, paid |
| Lead generation | Every form, bots included | Real leads only, then the ones that closed |
From HighLevel natively, or any CRM by private webhook, directly or through Zapier, Make or n8n. Cancellations, no-shows and lost deals are never sent.
See offline conversions and HighLevel conversion tracking.
Ads Warmup: tell the ads who pays
A fraud API tells you which visitors look fake. It cannot tell the ad platforms which people are real customers, so new campaigns learn from scratch. The customers you already have are the best description of who to find.
Ads Warmup, DataCops' flagship feature, sends them to your ad platforms before a campaign spends:
- Upload a customer list. A CSV of paying customers, trials or booked demos. DataCops reads your columns; only email is required.
- See a match score for every person. An estimate from 0 to 10 from email, phone, name, location, click ID and customer ID, before anything is sent.
- Pick the event. Purchase, Lead, Complete registration, Add to cart or Schedule.
- Send server-side. Up to 20,000 people per upload to Meta, Google Ads and TikTok, with a sent, skipped or failed result per person. Google Ads credits only people who clicked a Google ad.
Each row is dated when you press send, not with the old sale date, so it gives a new campaign real customers to learn from on day one. Preview is free; sending needs a paid plan.
What else a fraud API never does
- Capture at the edge. With DNS on Cloudflare, the free, optional DataCops Cloudflare Worker reads click IDs and UTMs off the first request, before the page or any script runs. It captures; it does not block.
- Keep the click on the server. gclid, wbraid, gbraid, fbclid, ttclid and li_fat_id are stored for up to 90 days, so a signup that turns paid weeks later still finds its click.
- Install on Shopify. The DataCops Shopify app adds a web pixel and a theme app embed. See Shopify Conversions API.
- Hand evidence to Google. On the Organization plan, the fraud refund report exports bot-flagged Google Ads clicks in the format Google's Click Quality form asks for. You attach it; Google decides.
Setup, step by step, side by side
| The job | With Fingerprint | With DataCops |
|---|---|---|
| Install | Add the JS agent or mobile SDK, then call the server API from your backend. | Add one script and one DNS record. |
| Serve it first-party | Proxy integration through Cloudflare, AWS, Azure, Akamai or Fastly, Enterprise only. | Served from your own subdomain. |
| Act on a risky signup | Write rules on the score and wire them into your signup flow. | Switch on SignupCops. |
| Keep bots away from the ads | Not built in. Stop your pixel from firing yourself. | Switch on Real people only per platform. |
| Keep the click through Google sign-in | Not built in. | Handled by SignupCops. |
| Send conversions to Meta and Google Ads | Not built in. A separate tool. | Connect each platform with one click. |
| Handle consent | Bring your own banner. | Switch on the built-in manager. |
"15 minutes to get server-side tracking live. After 3 days failing with another app and a DIY server-side Google Tag Manager, that alone sold me. Then support jumped on a Google Meet with me on a Sunday afternoon to finish the job."Andrew Forsyth, Chief Executive Officer, Zeald
"15 minutes to get server-side tracking live. After 3 days failing with another app and a DIY server-side Google Tag Manager, that alone sold me. Then support jumped on a Google Meet with me on a Sunday afternoon to finish the job."Andrew Forsyth, Chief Executive Officer, Zeald
What to know before you switch
- Fingerprint keeps the edge on device identity. Its visitor ID and Smart Signals (tamper, emulator, incognito, virtual machine) are made for developers who want a stable device ID in their own code. If you build fraud logic on that ID, keep Fingerprint for it.
- Your code gets shorter. Moving the ad side off Fingerprint means deleting the glue: the code that reads a score and decides whether a signup should fire a conversion. In DataCops that is Real people only per platform (off by default) and SignupCops.
- Compare on signups, not API calls. Fingerprint bills per call. Run DataCops beside it for two weeks and compare how many signups each ad platform was told about, using the delivery log, before you cut any calls.
Moving from Fingerprint
- Add DataCops next to Fingerprint. One script and one DNS record. Nothing else changes.
- Connect your ad accounts and turn off the old pixel events DataCops now sends, so nothing counts twice.
- Switch on SignupCops and Real people only for each platform.
- Compare for two weeks: signups credited, what was held back, and cost per real user.
- Keep Fingerprint if you use it for account takeover or payments. Cancel it if you only used it for signups.
Every DataCops product mentioned here
- SignupCops, click fraud protection and first-party analytics.
- Server-side tracking and offline conversions.
- Meta Conversions API, Google Ads conversion tracking, TikTok Events API, LinkedIn Conversions API.
- HighLevel conversion tracking and DataCops for agencies.
- Consent manager, Ads Warmup and health mode.
FingerprintJS alternatives: FAQ
What is the best FingerprintJS alternative?
DataCops, for most ad-funded businesses. It replaces FingerprintJS and the rest of the stack: one script, a bot verdict on every visit, a built-in consent manager, server-side sends to 8 ad platforms, and your CRM sales matched to the ad click. Other picks depend on the job. If you want a cheap browser ID you run yourself, ThumbmarkJS. If you want login and signup risk scores, Castle. For a full fraud platform with payments and AML, SEON. For fake accounts and multi-accounting, Verisoul. If the real problem is fake signups teaching your ads the wrong people, DataCops: SignupCops holds risky signups back from Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, LinkedIn, Microsoft Ads, Reddit, Pinterest and X and keeps the ad click through Sign in with Google.
Is FingerprintJS still free?
The open-source library is free under the MIT license. Its own README says browser-only IDs are much less accurate than the paid product and can be faked. The hosted API has a free tier of 1,000 calls a month.
How long does Fingerprint keep data?
30 days on Free and Pro Plus, 90 days on Enterprise, per its pricing page. DataCops keeps click IDs, sessions and the click log for 90 days, then deletes them.
Does Fingerprint send conversions to my ad platforms?
No. Fingerprint gives each browser or device a visitor ID and risk signals through an API. It does not track ads or send conversions. DataCops sends conversions server-side from your own subdomain to Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, LinkedIn, Microsoft Ads, Reddit, Pinterest and X.
How does DataCops recognise returning visitors?
With a first-party cookie from your own subdomain (up to 400 days, needs consent in the EU) and click IDs kept 90 days. The bot verdict is based on bots, datacenter traffic, VPNs and proxies per visit.
Can I tell my ad platforms which signups are real customers?
Yes. DataCops sends the stages after the signup (trial, paid, won) back to Meta, Google Ads, TikTok and LinkedIn, matched to the ad click, and Ads Warmup lets you upload your existing paying customers as a starting signal. A fraud API returns a score and stops; it does not tell the ad platforms anything.
How do I keep fake signups from training my ads?
Filter before the conversion is sent. DataCops gives every visit a bot verdict, checks each signup email (disposable providers, domains with no mail server and an email risk score), and with Real people only switched on for a platform, flagged signups never reach it. SignupCops also keeps the ad click through Sign in with Google. With LeadCops (Business and up), a lead that fails is held and never billed.
Can DataCops replace Fingerprint for account takeover or payment fraud?
No. Fingerprint, Castle and SEON go much deeper on device intelligence, account takeover, payment fraud and manual review. DataCops is a tracking solution. Its job is keeping bot traffic and risky signups out of what your ads learn from.
What is SignupCops?
SignupCops is the DataCops product for signups. It keeps the ad click through Sign in with Google, so the signup is credited to the right ad, and it holds risky signups back from the ad platforms so they do not optimise toward them.
Does Fingerprint have mobile SDKs?
Yes, Android and iOS SDKs, with 500,000 Android calls a month free on every plan. DataCops is built for websites and has no mobile SDK.
