A Comprehensive Survey on Smart Home IoT Fingerprinting: From Detection to Prevention and Practical Deployment

Smart homes are increasingly populated with heterogeneous Internet of Things (IoT) devices that interact continuously with users and the environment. This diversity introduces critical challenges in device identification, authentication, and security, where fingerprinting techniques have emerged as a key approach. In this survey, we provide a comprehensive analysis of IoT fingerprinting specifically in the context of smart homes, examining methods for device and their event detection, classification, and intrusion prevention. We review existing techniques, e.g., network traffic analysis or machine learning-based schemes, highlighting their applicability and limitations in home environments characterized by resource-constrained devices, dynamic usage patterns, and privacy requirements. Furthermore, we discuss fingerprinting system deployment challenges like scalability, interoperability, and energy efficiency, as well as emerging opportunities enabled by generative AI and federated learning. Finally, we outline open research directions that can advance reliable and privacy-preserving fingerprinting for next-generation smart home ecosystems.