How to integrate WhatIsMyBrowser into a decision engine

Published on: 2024-08-10

WhatIsMyBrowser.com is a service that parses browser string information from User-Agent headers. The parsed output shows details about the browser, the platform, and other technical attributes.

Browser data is useful for detecting bot traffic and other malicious traffic. Real users tend to update their browsers and use standard releases. Bot traffic often sticks to a specific string or rotates through a fixed set of browsers. Over time, that rotation becomes outdated, which WhatIsMyBrowser indicates in its response data.

Sign up for a WhatIsMyBrowser account and get API key

To get an API key, fill in the form to open an account with WhatIsMyBrowser.

WhatIsMyBrowser pricing page

Their free tier is available for testing. Check the pricing page for its current request limit.
Once your account is ready, go to WhatIsMyBrowser Account management and get your API key.

Create a data source in Decisimo Portal

Select New in Data sources, ask the AI Assistant to configure the provider, then check and apply its proposal.
Replace __YOUR_API_KEY__ in the Headers section with your WhatIsMyBrowser API key. This is the highlighted text in the screenshot below.
Tell the AI Assistant that WhatIsMyBrowser's API needs only user_agent. Review its proposed connection in Data sources and apply it. JSON and XML responses are available to the decision flow.

Add WhatIsMyBrowser data source to your decision flow

If you already have a decision step for data sources, add the WhatIsMyBrowser call in that same step. The decision engine calls all sources in the same step in parallel. That gives you the fastest execution time.
If you do not have a decision flow step for external data, add one. Connect the step in your decision flow and open the definition window by double-clicking.
In the decision flow step, define the attribute from your data object that contains the User-Agent string to send to WhatIsMyBrowser.

Run the decision making

Release your decision flow, deploy it to an endpoint, and make decisions using data from WhatIsMyBrowser.

Check other data source guides

Frequently asked questions

How many WhatIsMyBrowser requests should I budget each month?

Estimate monthly calls from the number of decisions that actually need browser data, not total traffic. If each eligible decision makes one lookup, that count is your starting request volume. A free tier is available for testing. Check the pricing page above for its current request limit. Add expected peaks and retries, then measure real usage in a controlled test. Check current paid-tier pricing before production, since prices can change.

Should an outdated browser string trigger a decline?

Do not decline a request solely because its browser string is outdated. User-Agent values can be spoofed, and legitimate customers may use older browsers. Treat the result as one signal alongside account, transaction, and device evidence. If the result raises concern but other evidence is inconclusive, consider additional verification instead of an automatic decline.

How should I test WhatIsMyBrowser before releasing the decision logic?

Test current, older, unusual, malformed, and missing User-Agent values. Check that the response identifies the expected browser and platform, then verify how the decision logic handles outdated strings and unusable responses. Include ordinary customer traffic in the test. A browser string alone does not establish whether a request is fraudulent.

What should my decision logic do when the WhatIsMyBrowser lookup fails?

Set a timeout and define the fallback before release. If the lookup times out or returns unusable data, continue with the other signals your policy can safely rely on and mark the browser result as unavailable. Do not treat missing data as proof of either fraud or safety. Test this fallback with realistic delays and failed responses.

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