What are the potential drawbacks of using IP, browser, and cookie tracking for user counting in PHP?

One potential drawback of using IP, browser, and cookie tracking for user counting in PHP is that it may not accurately reflect unique users due to factors like shared IPs or users clearing their cookies. To address this issue, you can implement a more reliable method of user counting by using a combination of user authentication and session tracking.

session_start();

if(!isset($_SESSION['user_counted'])) {
    // Increment user count
    $_SESSION['user_counted'] = true;
}