diff --git a/src/WebSocketsClient.cpp b/src/WebSocketsClient.cpp
index 3a0a039..d398aad 100644
--- a/src/WebSocketsClient.cpp
+++ b/src/WebSocketsClient.cpp
@@ -40,8 +40,10 @@ WebSocketsClient::~WebSocketsClient() {
 void WebSocketsClient::begin(const char *host, uint16_t port, const char * url) {
     _host = host;
     _port = port;
+#if (WEBSOCKETS_NETWORK_TYPE == NETWORK_ESP8266)
     _fingerprint = "";
-
+#endif
+    
     _client.num = 0;
     _client.status = WSC_NOT_CONNECTED;
     _client.tcp = NULL;