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[[!meta title="Deleting the Persistent Storage"]]
 
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File “wiki/src/doc/first_steps/welcome_screen/mac_spoofing.bg.po” was added. 03/06/2025
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Some [[!wikipedia captive portals]] might send your MAC address over the Internet to their authentication servers. This should not affect your decision regarding MAC address anonymization. If you decide to disable MAC address anonymization your computer can already be identified by your ISP.
 
03/06/2025
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When using mobile phone connectivity, such as 3G or GSM, the identifier of your SIM card (IMSI) and the serial number of your phone (IMEI) are always revealed to the mobile phone operator.
 
03/06/2025
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While using Wi-Fi, anybody within range of your Wi-Fi interface can see your MAC address, even without being connected to the same Wi-Fi access point.
 
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Other means of surveillance can reveal your geographical location: video surveillance, mobile phone activity, credit card transactions, social interactions, etc.
 
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Other considerations
 
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Choose **MAC Address Anonymization** in the **Additional Settings** dialog.
 
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When the Welcome Screen appears, click on the **[[!img lib/list-add.png alt="Add Additional Setting" class="symbolic" link="no"]]** button.
 
03/06/2025
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You can disable MAC address anonymization from the [[Welcome Screen|welcome_screen]]:
 
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Disable MAC address anonymization
 
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<a id="disable"></a>
 
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**Using your own computer at home**. Your identity and the MAC address of your computer are already associated to this local network, so MAC address anonymization is probably useless. But if access to your local network is restricted based on MAC addresses it might be impossible to connect with an anonymized MAC address.
 
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Some networks **only allow connections from a list of authorized MAC addresses**. In this case, MAC address anonymization makes it impossible to connect to such networks. If you were granted access to such network in the past, then MAC address anonymization might prevent you from connecting.
 
03/06/2025
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On some network interfaces, **MAC address anonymization is impossible** due to limitations in the hardware or in Linux. Tails temporarily disables such network interfaces. You might disable MAC address anonymization to be able to use them.
 
03/06/2025
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**Using a public computer**, for example in an Internet café or a library. This computer is regularly used on this local network, and its MAC address is not associated with your identity. In this case, MAC address anonymization can make it impossible to connect. It can even **look suspicious** to the network administrators to see an unknown MAC address being used on that network.
 
03/06/2025
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However, as [[discussed above|doc/first_steps/welcome_screen/mac_spoofing#what-is-mac-address]], disabling MAC address anonymization makes it possible for someone to track your geographical location. If this is problematic, consider using a different network interface, like a [[USB Wi-Fi adapter|doc/anonymous_internet/no-wifi#wifi-adapters]], or moving to another network.
 
03/06/2025
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Your MAC address is not sent over the Internet to the websites that you are visiting.
 
03/06/2025
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An adversary on the local network can only see encrypted connections to the Tor network.
 
03/06/2025
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Note that even if MAC address anonymization is disabled, your anonymity on the Internet is preserved:
 
03/06/2025

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