MAC address randomization is on its way
Google is always taking steps to help better protect your privacy online. For a few years now, that’s included giving Android users the ability to randomize their MAC address — something that’s traditionally static (and very much trackable). What started as a not-very-effective, experimental feature slowly matured into the robust system with individual per-network randomization options we have have today. Now Google is working to bring a similar level of protection to Chrome OS, as it lays the groundwork for adding MAC address randomization to Chromebooks.
A MAC (media access control) address is basically a unique identifier for a network device — like your smartphone or Chromebook. Every time you connect to a nearby Wi-Fi network, that access point can see your MAC. And if your MAC never changes, someone who runs multiple APs starts getting a pretty solid idea of your usage patterns. By randomizing the MAC as Android can (pictured below), that makes it more difficult for someone to follow your device around.
According to the developer notes in the Chromium Gerrit (as spotted by About Chromebooks), when this feature arrives your MAC address will only be randomized when you connect to a new network — pretty much like we’re used to on Android. You’ll have to forget and fully reconfigure a network if you want to go back to your device’s actual MAC.
None of this is going to replace other security measures you might want to take advantage of in public areas, like connecting through a VPN — while that will help keep your online activity private, it does little to prevent the Wi-Fi network itself from tracking you. Still, it sounds like a worthy step in the right direction, and offers more protection than just exposing your hardware MAC address all over the place. This feature for Chromebooks is still in development, though you can get an early look at it behind flag chrome:flags#wifi-connect-mac-address-randomization. We’ll be keeping an eye on further development.
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