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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