The practice of assigning a different Media Access Control (MAC) address to a device’s network interface periodically or upon each network connection is a security and privacy enhancement technique. Instead of using the hardware’s factory-assigned MAC address, a temporary, randomly generated address is utilized for network communication. For example, when connecting to a Wi-Fi network, a device configured in this way presents a distinct address each time, rather than consistently broadcasting its permanent hardware identifier.
Employing this method offers increased privacy by reducing the ability of network operators and other entities to track devices across different networks or over time based on their unique hardware identifiers. It minimizes the potential for location tracking and targeted advertising that relies on consistent device identification. Historically, fixed MAC addresses were a common identifier for network devices, enabling easy tracking; this shift toward randomization represents a significant improvement in user privacy and security within networked environments.
