It's no secret that corporations collect data about Wi-Fi devices of users who are near the device. If some devices, be it a laptop or smartphone, when connected to the network, can generate a new mac-address, thereby preventing them from being tracked.
How to protect a device running openwrt? I think it is possible to create a new MAC address and wireless network name at power up or once a day to interfere with tracking.
If so, how do client devices know which network they should connect to? Maybe such a tool already exists? What do you think about this?
I have not come up with anything better than generating data on the client device and sending it via ssh to the router. In this case, other clients will have to find out the ssid manually or try to connect to several networks in turn until one of them accepts the password.
Android 8.0 introduced using random MAC addresses when looking for new WiFi networks. As of Android 10, the default is to present a random mac address to AP's both when looking for networks and connecting to wireless networks.
I don't know the specifics for iOS or other client operating systems, but I mention this to amplify the other responses. This is generally done on the client side, not the AP side.
It is is possible to change the MAC address presented by OpenWrt AP's in the wireless configuration as follows, but this is a one time change until you manually modify the MAC address again.
How are you going to coordinate all those Android, Apple, Windows, Smart TV, and whatever devices into changing their configuration to a new SSID each time you change it?
Changing the mac address is not a problem, but you should also change ssid and tell all clients what network they need to connect to. The only problem is how you tell the clients this information.
A list of available devices (access points and their clients) is made when scanning networks and sent to the servers of the companies where the map is made. This allows you to find out where the device used to be and where it is now, and all the clients that connected to it. If it is a mobile device then you can even map its travel route.
What do you think is making this list? And how do you think it's being done to/with your OpenWRT device? Frankly it's sounds like your paranoia is getting the better of you.
The list is not made by the access point itself, but by the devices that connect to it. It may be a smartphone with unethical firmware, a laptop with Linux, but it has a browser with geolocation enabled. The devices scan the airwaves and send this data to corporate servers. Devices regularly send this data. Using this information, you can keep track of the people that corporations do. Use Google to learn more.
I planned this to get around the surveillance. I'm not going to prove anything about surveillance to anyone, because I could talk to the wall, and that would be even more productive.
If you help me with what's on my mind, I'll listen to you.
Maybe you'd be better off getting rid of the devices that are tracking you than trying to solve it by repeatedly changing the MAC address of your router
And the general answer is "no", because no such protocol exists today; and even if it existed, it is not generally used.
You could probably build something yourself for a computer. A phone will be more difficult, as they have a hardened security model. But an embedded device, that does not accept external programs, will be impossible.
Problems can be avoided by creating, for example, 30 SSIDs for the entire month and synchronizing this list to all devices in any way. You will need to create connection files on the device saying that if such a network is detected, you will need to connect to it. If it is not possible to create such files, you can always open the list and find out the name of the currently existing network.
This is still a sketch, but I think that this will work.
Also, if Ansible is not an option then @Random3 can try Syncthing. My idea is far from perfect but it might work.
Export WiFi config into a file, push it via syncthing and create apply scripts. Something among these lines:
one central repository of WiFi configs where user can set up cron, or similar scheduler, to prepare stuff with new ssid, new passwords and new mac address for WiFi. Think "home server"
prepared and auto generated files are placed in a shared repository which Syncthing will sync with home network (Windows, Linux based, Android etc etc). Syncthing is great for this and it is stable for daily use on all major platforms (and less mahor ones)
with new wifi config, device can apply settings in automated way. You will have to get creative here and explore various things like PowerShell in windows, shell in mac, automation tools on Android (tasker?). This logic would be platform based, on devices you want to use new wifi config with little to no friction
This might do the trick but it involves a bit of thinkering. If executed properly, it might allow WiFi changing every 5 days. It is also not so user friendly for house guests but that can be easily fixed with QR code which they can use, if you allow guests to use WiFi. You can even go step further: use low powered digital screen to create QR code for WiFi and rotate it, if you have a lot if people coming over. Or cheaper: instead of wasting electricity you can show big QR image on your computer/tv screen for guests.
Again: far from good idea but you could have some fun with this setup.