> AFAIK this wouldn't work because MAC addresses don't get forwarded to the next network segment
Finally! I was scrolling down the comments, starting to think nobody on HN knew networking enough to notice this.
MAC addresses never "leave" the local network segment, so can't be used for tracking tethering unless the phone has code to forward this info on. But, at that point, the MAC address isn't really needed anymore ;)
Does 4G even use the concept of a MAC address? I'm not familiar enough with the protocol to comment, but MAC addresses are usually an Ethernet conecpt.
Finally! I was scrolling down the comments, starting to think nobody on HN knew networking enough to notice this.
MAC addresses never "leave" the local network segment, so can't be used for tracking tethering unless the phone has code to forward this info on. But, at that point, the MAC address isn't really needed anymore ;)