iOS8 to Include MAC Address Spoofing – Marketing Data Will be Heavily Affected

With Apple’s latest iOS8 platform drawing nearer and nearer to its release date – which even at this time is not confirmed (although we do estimate a date of around three months time), information regarding what the new OS will have featured is very much in the open.

Whilst Apple’s keynotes have displayed all of the latest and greatest features that users will have at their fingertips, information has been discovered which relates to user privacy and the way in which iOS 8 tackles this growing concern for some users. The adjustment that I’m referring to here comes down to the collection is user data when they are out in public and marketing analysts are scanning for data to help them build up a shoppers profile as part of market research. To collect data at the moment, information is collected through wireless networks – whether you are actively connected to them or not – and in particular the key piece of information that analysts are after is the devices MAC address – the unique identifier which is much like the chassis number on a car for example.

Now as the user is becoming more conscious of their privacy in the open world, there has been a growing demand to have this information withheld rather than being freely available. To combat this, Apple have introduced MAC spoofing into the latest iOS, which scrambles and masks the devices actual MAC address, resulting in false data being collected on the other end. What does this mean for the analysts? Simply put it means that, even with the collaboration of store inventory and video records, the whole integrity of their operation to build up a picture of the shopper is under threat – MAC spoofing results in false data and therefore false statistics.

As the awareness of user privacy continues to grow and the consumers demand grows on what data they share, Apple’s move has started what could be a massive turn in user privacy – and what will Apple users need to do? Simply update their phone to iOS 8 – that’s all.

Source: AppleInsider