SHIELD alternative: explained decisions for web, apps and APIs

What SHIELD does

SHIELD calls itself a device-first fraud intelligence platform for web and mobile apps. Its core is SHIELD Device ID, which SHIELD says stays persistent across sessions, app reinstalls, factory resets and tampering, and in incognito mode, so fraudulent activity ties back to the same physical device. Trusted devices can then skip re-verification, one-time passwords and CAPTCHAs.

On top of the ID, SHIELD returns 20+ risk indicators that flag fraud tools and techniques, including emulators, app cloners, GPS spoofers, VPNs, proxies and bots. SHIELD Sentinel, its always-on session monitoring, profiles the whole device session so it can catch the moment a trusted user switches on an app cloner, GPS spoofer or screen-sharing tool mid-session. SHIELD also describes cluster analysis that links shared devices to expose fraud networks, behavioral biometrics, location intelligence and configurable risk thresholds with trust scores.

SHIELD ships iOS and Android SDKs, JavaScript for web and support for Unity, React Native, Flutter and Cordova. It markets to ride-hailing, fintech, digital banking, e-commerce, social media, gaming, iGaming and crypto platforms, and says no personally identifiable information is needed to start.

How Kavra approaches the problem differently

SHIELD is built around recognizing the device. Kavra is built around deciding what to do with the request. Each Kavra assessment has a plain-language headline, the findings behind it, risk by domain (automation, impersonation, network, tampering, abuse), network context and a recommended action: allow, verify or block. Your backend applies it. Kavra never blocks on its own.

Kavra analyzes 3,000+ data points per visit and looks for contradictions between layers. It recognizes returning devices across visits and links one actor behind many accounts, and when a device changes its fingerprint, Kavra keeps it as one actor with N rotations. The main differences show up on the web and on the network side.

• Browser automation and fake browsers. Playwright, Puppeteer, Selenium, stealth plugins, headless Chrome and HTTP clients imitating browsers, caught across layers. See headless browsers.
• The real connection. Kavra's own edge network sees how a visitor actually connects, not only what the page or app reports.
• Own proxy intelligence. Real exit IPs of commercial residential and mobile proxy networks, measured continuously, on top of 30+ public reputation feeds.
• Verified good bots and AI agents. Search crawlers and AI agents are verified by cryptographic signatures and published IP ranges, so you can allow them on purpose.
• API and backend traffic. A server-side request API assesses calls that never load a page.

When SHIELD may be the better fit

SHIELD's focus on mobile devices makes it a natural choice for some teams.

• Your product is mainly a mobile app, such as ride-hailing or mobile gaming, and most fraud happens inside the app.
• You need dedicated detection of app cloners, GPS spoofers and screen-sharing tools, including when they are switched on mid-session.
• You build games in Unity and want an engine plugin, or you ship with Cordova.
• Your fraud model mainly needs a device ID that survives factory resets as its key, with your own team writing the rules.
• Location truth matters a lot, for example driver or rider location on a ride-hailing platform.

When Kavra is the better fit

• Much of your traffic and fraud is on the web: signups, logins, checkouts, bonus claims and public APIs.
• You face browser automation: credential stuffing, scalping, scraping or scripted signups.
• Operators hide behind residential and mobile proxies and you want them recognized for what they are.
• You want each decision explained in plain words for analysts, support and customer appeals.
• You want to allow verified AI agents and search crawlers while stopping unverified ones.

The two can work side by side. An app-first business can keep a mobile device ID for in-app tampering signals and use Kavra on its website, login and API endpoints, where browser automation and proxy traffic arrive. Kavra's native iOS and Android SDKs also cover apps when you want one explained verdict across every channel.