WURFL is Ready for Client Hints
Our upcoming Q1 2022 release of WURFL API will automatically accept User-Agent Client Hints, reconcile them with the User-Agent (UA) string, and continue to identify the same accurate device profile and capabilities that customers expect from WURFL. If you have never heard of client-hints, then this blog post will clarify a few things).
Google’s public timeline indicates that they will freeze desktop User-Agents in September 2022 and mobile User-Agents in January 2023. As of today, WURFL’s architecture is already working with Client Hints. So regardless of changes to this timeline, WURFL customers are ready to start using User-Agent Client Hints.
For the record: the current version of the WURFL API already supports User-Agent Client-Hints. However, that function is opt-in. We implemented it that way to allow ourselves and certain customers to tinker with the new paradigm before prime time.
What Should Users Who Need to Detect Mobile Devices Do? (this includes WURFL users)
HTTP as we have known it is changing, so you’ll need to be proactive in requesting the new User-Agent Client-Hint headers from browsers. We have made available a resource here to make requesting and implementing User-Agent Client Hints easy.
- Turn on, opt-in to receive User-Agent Client Hints
We recommend that users configure their servers to request all the User-Agent Client Hints (low and high entropy). - HTTP responses will need to contain this header (alternatives are discussed in the resource linked above):
Accept-CH: sec-ch-ua-platform-version,sec-ch-ua-full-version,sec-ch-ua-full-version-list,sec-ch-ua-model,sec-ch-ua-arch,sec-ch-ua-bitness,sec-ch-ua-wow64 - Delegate Client Hints using permissions policy
- Start receiving and using User-Agent Client Hints in WURFL
Stay tuned for the new WURFL release and download it from my.scientiamobile.com. After installing the upcoming WURFL API release, the change is automatic as long as you are passing the full HTTP request to the WURFL API (alternatively you’ll need to update your applications to handle HTTP requests and not just the User-Agent string alone).
WURFL will analyze both User-Agent strings and the User-Agent Client Hints, and devise the best strategy to detect the device. You give WURFL an HTTP request, and WURFL will return device information. You won’t need to worry about whether the User-Agent string is still significant (i.e. not frozen) or not. The WURFL API will figure that out for you and go for the Client Hints if necessary.