"MAC addresses are unique and permanent"

lore

networkingprivacy

The burned-in address stopped being either: operating systems randomize Wi-Fi MACs per network by default, and any MAC can be set in software in seconds.

iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS all ship MAC randomization to defeat tracking; IEEE 802c formalized local-address usage. Tracking-by-MAC and MAC-based security both quietly broke.

Disputed / commonly mistold A popular version of this story is inaccurate - see the note above.

Sources

IEEE Std 802c - local MAC address usage (2017)
Apple / Google / Microsoft platform documentation on MAC address randomization

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