Privacy via MAC randomization
From
Marian@marian@dumbshits.com to
misc.phone.mobile.iphone,alt.internet.wireless on Fri Nov 28 19:02:34 2025
From Newsgroup: alt.internet.wireless
This was posted to the Windows newsgroup, but it's also apropos to the
Android and iOS newsgroups in that it discusses MAC ranomization privacy.
MAC randomization is primarily a privacy feature, not a security feature.
Implications:
1. Android 9 & up is more private than iOS for MAC addresses because
it the option of setting MAC randomizaton per SSID & per connection.
2. iOS 14 & up can only set MAC randomization per SSID.
3. For Windows 10, it's like iOS in that it's only per SSID.
Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi > Manage known networks
[Network] > Random hardware addresses.
4. For Windows 11, it's more like Android in that it can be per diem.
5. Also Windows can set randomization for all access points en masse.
In all cases, the MAC randomization feature is about privacy (reducing tracking), not security (preventing attacks).
If anyone knows how to change the outward-facing MAC of the router, that
would be a huge boon to privacy given most iOS & Android owners are not
only rude, but ignorant in that they upload your BSSID to Google/Mozilla.
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