The list of Wi-Fi networks and passwords stored on a device is likely to extend far beyond a user's home, and include hotels, shops, libraries, friends' houses, offices and all manner of other places. What is not said, is that Google can read the Wi-Fi passwords.Īnd, if you are reading this and thinking about one Wi-Fi network, be aware that Android devices remember the passwords to every Wi-Fi network they have logged on to. It lets Google configure your new Android device very much like your old one. Backing up your data/settings makes moving to a new Android device much easier. If you uncheck this option, your data stops getting backed up, and any existing backups are deleted from Google servers. Some third-party apps may also take advantage of this feature, so you can restore your data if you reinstall an app. If you check this option, a wide variety of your personal data is backed up automatically, including your Wi-Fi passwords, Browser bookmarks, a list of the apps you've installed from the Market app, the words you've added to the dictionary used by the onscreen keyboard, and most of your customized settings. If you uncheck this option, you stop backing up your data to your account, and any existing backups are deleted from Google servers.Ī longer explanation for Android 4.0 can be found on page 97 of the Galaxy Nexus phone users Guide: Some third-party applications may also take advantage of this feature, so you can restore your data if you reinstall an application. If you check this option, a wide variety of you personal data is backed up, including your Wi-Fi passwords, Browser bookmarks, a list of the applications you’ve installed, the words you’ve added to the dictionary used by the onscreen keyboard, and most of the settings that you configure with the Settings application. If you replace your phone, you can restore the data you’ve backed up, the first time you sign in with your Google Account. A longer explanation of this backup feature in Android 2.3.4 can be found in the Users Guide on page 374:Ĭheck to back up some of your personal data to Google servers, with your Google Account. Needless to say "settings" and "application data" are vague terms. The description says "Back up application data, Wi-Fi passwords, and other settings to Google servers". In Android 4.2, go to Settings, then "Backup and reset". On a Samsung device, the option is called "Back up my data". The only description is "Back up current settings and application data". On an HTC device, the option that gives Google your Wi-Fi password is "Back up my settings". In Android 2.3.4, go to Settings, then Privacy. After all, there are dozens and dozens of system settings to configure.Īnd, anyone who does run across the setting can not hope to understand the privacy implication. I suspect that many Android users have never even seen the configuration option controlling this. And, since the feature is presented as a good thing, most people wouldn't change it. And, although they have never said so directly, it is obvious that Google can read the passwords.Īndroid devices have defaulted to coughing up Wi-Fi passwords since version 2.2. Many (probably most) of these Android phones and tablets are phoning home to Google, backing up Wi-Fi passwords along with other assorted settings. That multiplies out to 748 million phones in 2013, a figure that does not include Android tablets. Recently IDC reported that 187 million Android phones were shipped in the second quarter of this year. Considering how many Android devices there are, it is likely that Google can access most Wi-Fi passwords worldwide. If an Android device (phone or tablet) has ever logged on to a particular Wi-Fi network, then Google probably knows the Wi-Fi password.
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