The user agent is a string of characters that identifies the software or device that is sending a web request. This string includes information such as the browser type, operating system, and software version. User agent strings are useful to web servers to identify and respond to requests from specific browsers or devices, or to access websites as users to check appearance and operation.
Knowing the user agent allows websites to customize their content for specific browsers or devices. This can be helpful for providing a better user experience. For example, a website may display different content to users who are using mobile devices from that it displays to users who are using desktop computers. Additionally, this can help websites determine which browsers are most popular among their users. Website owners can decide whether or not to focus development efforts on certain browsers. Likewise website owners can be aware of the user agent when they are running A/B tests. If they see that a certain browser is not converting well, they can make adjustments to their website to improve the experience for that browser. You can use user agent for trouble-shooting purposes, in case certain browsers or devices are causing trouble in a website, the developer can aim strategies to fix the problem.
Browser plugin
There are many browser plugins that will allow you to see what your user agent string is. One that we recommend is User-Agent Switcher for Chrome. This plugin allows you to easily change your user agent on the fly. Simply install it from the Chrome Web Store and you will be ready to go.
Google Analytics
In Google Analytics, there is a section called “audience” where you can find out what your users’ devices are. To access this section, go to “Audience” in the left menu and then select “devices” in the submenu. You will find the necessary guidance to scrape and randomize User Agents for your purposes.
BrowserStack
With BrowserStack‘s User Agent randomizing feature, developers can test their sites on any browser or operating system without having to switch devices or set up virtual machines. BrowserStack also has a public database of more than 8,000 browser/OS combinations that developers can use for testing purposes. Developers can search for specific browser versions using this database.
User-Agent Database API
This API collects data about user-agents from across the web and organizes it into categories. It also provides additional information about each category, such as the operating systems, vendors, and versions that are associated with it. This API is ideal for those who want to categorize their users based on their user-agent or want to target their marketing towards specific groups of users.
User-Agent Strings API
This API by ZylaLabs is useful for identifying and generating User-Agent strings for the various uses. It is accurate and efficient, and it is integrated with the other APIs of the suite to render the most precise output in seconds. It adds the feature of ease-of-use, which means anyone can run it and understand the result (JSON).
To make use of them, you must first go to User Agent Generator API and simply click on the button “Subscribe” to start using the API on a test trial. After signing up in Zyla API Hub, you will be given your personal API key. Using this one-of-a-kind combination of numbers and letters, you will be able to use, connect, and manage APIs. Use the different API endpoints depending on what you are looking for. Once you find your needed endpoint, make the API call by pressing the button “run” and see the results on your screen.
