MAC Address (Media Access Control)
A MAC address is a unique 48-bit (6-byte) hardware number assigned to every network interface in accordance with the IEEE 802 standards. It is usually written like 3C:5A:B4:11:22:33, with each byte represented as two hexadecimal (hex) characters separated by colons.
OUI — Organizationally Unique Identifier
The first 3 bytes (24 bits) are called the OUI and are registered to manufacturers by IEEE. Apple owns hundreds of OUIs such as 3C:5A:B4, and Samsung owns ones like D8:46:30. The remaining 3 bytes correspond to the manufacturer's own per-device serial number.
Locally Administered & Multicast Flags
The last two bits of the first byte carry a special meaning:
- Bit 0 (LSB): 0 = unicast (single target), 1 = multicast (multiple targets)
- Bit 1: 0 = universal (IEEE-assigned, the real manufacturer MAC), 1 = locally administered (software-assigned / virtual machine / randomized)
Why can't a browser detect your MAC address?
The internet runs over IP (Layer 3). A MAC address, on the other hand, is only valid between devices on the same local network (Layer 2). When a packet passes through a router, the router uses its own MAC as the source address and your MAC is completely stripped from the packet. In the traffic that reaches our server, not even your ISP router's MAC is visible — let alone yours. JavaScript APIs also do not expose the MAC address, for privacy reasons.
MAC randomization (privacy)
Modern versions of Android (10+), iOS (14+), Windows 10/11, and macOS generate a random MAC address when connecting to each Wi-Fi network in order to protect your privacy. This way, network owners cannot track you using your device's real hardware identifier. Only the device itself knows the true MAC.