Each bit has to perfectly bisect the population for 33 bits to be sufficient. But that's the minimum and it's meaningful because of how tiny an amount of data i

Each bit has to perfectly bisect the population for 33 bits to be sufficient. But that's the minimum and it's meaningful because of how tiny an amount of data it is compared to how much we process all the time with computers. The time someone takes to get rid of a cookie popup is not a clear signal, it doesn't bisect the population but it has signal in it. Faster suggests fast computer, good mouse or trackpad, youth, health, familiarity with the internet. Slower suggests low quality dirty mouse or trackpad, old age, poor health, unfamiliarity with the internet. There is some data there, towards some sub-groups and away from others. "Doesn't keep snakes" is low signal because that's most people. "Keeps snakes" is high signal because it narrows down to a small sub-group. At extreme best/worst case _33_ of them can single someone out, but think that we leak thousands and thousands of bits every day, day after day, to all kinds of information processors who sell and aggregate them, and some that we leak are very specific like GPS coordinates or nearby WiFi SSIDs or app login details, that's why I think it's meaningful. FaceBook patented an idea of identifying photos taken with the same camera by looking at dust, distortion and damage on the camera lens. Imagine you go into a shop, open their app and photograph a QR code for a discount and that picture ties the app user to every public online photo they ever took, and the app does some device fingerprinting too. Then at home you open the web browser and visit a site with some tracking JS, and that ties a probable connection between your home internet IP with the person who was in the store earlier. You open an app and your home GPS coordinates and nearby WiFi signals are tied to the same home internet IP, and public name and address records identify who was in the store earlier. FaceBook buys that advertising data and makes a shadow profile of someone who lives here, shops there, took all these photos and probably knows some of the people who appear in the photos. That's a lot lot more than 33 bits, but it's not a lot to imagine happening for people casually using apps and the internet several times a day every day over the last decade. And no matter how hard you try to guard against it, the wrong 33 bits leaked is all it would take in the worst case to undo all your efforts.