Here’sanother reason you should update to iOS 17.1 : the Private Address feature in reality work now . Introduced in iOS 14 , Private Address ( also call Private Wi - Fi Address ) was supposed to put up user with a way to invalidate being tracked while connecting to Wi - Fi networks . But allot toArs Technica , the feature article never really worked in the first place because of a security exposure . Apple finally fixed it with the in style iOS 17 update .
The issue , documented asCVE-2023 - 42846 in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures database , involved the Private Address feature ’s power to blot out an iPhone ’s Media Access Control ( MAC ) address , which is used to specify a gadget ’s location on a Wi - Fi web . But , as explained in aMacworld Mac 911 column about Private Address , “ If that MAC address does n’t change over clip , the backend of a hotspot portal site could build up a profile of you ( or your twist ) using a variety of clues that … only raise traceable when copulate with a fixed internet ID . ”
surety researchers Talal Haj Bakry and Tommy Mysk found a vulnerability in Private Address that had been present since it was stick in in iOS 14 in 2020 . With the feature film on , iOS would answer to address requests with a secret reference as the reference , which made it seem like the feature article work . However , the research worker found that the real , literal MAC address was provide in a different part of the petition - reply . “ From the get - go , this lineament was useless because of this bug , ” Mysk said to Ars Technica . Mysk place a 98 - secondment YouTube video recording explaining the problem and noting that it is fixed in iOS 17.1 .
Ars Technica does body politic that , “ the feature was n’t useless , because it did forestall peaceful sniffing , ” but it was comparatively easy to find the real MAC speech and habituate the information nefariously . Ars also point out that , “ the radioactive dust for most iPhone and iPad user is probable to be minimal , if at all . ”
The Private Address characteristic is found in configurations ; tapWi - Fi , then , with any of the Wi - Fi hotspots that appear , tap the “ i ” icon . If youinstall iOS 17.1 , you’re able to rest guarantee that it really works now .
Learn more about iOS 17 in our superguide .
