How to lock down your Android Wi-Fi settings to improve privacy
The Electronic Frontier Foundation discovered that the majority of Android devices were leaking Wi-Fi connection history data to anyone within range.
This location history contains the names of Wi-Fi networks that the device has been connected to in the past. While it may contain cryptic names, it may also contain names such as "Home", "London Heathrow Airport" or "Tom's Mancave" that can be easily identified location-wise.
The feature that makes this possible was introduced in Android 3.1 Honeycomb. It is called Preferred Network Offload (PNO) and its purpose is to allow Android phones and tablets "to establish and maintain Wi-Fi connections even when they're in low-power mode" to extend battery life and reduce mobile data usage.
Not all devices leak SSID information though. Apple's iPhone, Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite, the HTC One Mini or the Samsung Galaxy S4 don't leak the information, while Google's Nexus 4 and 5, the HTC One or the Samsung Galaxy Nexus do.
What you can do about it
There is unfortunately not a lot that you can do about it. Google has created a fix for the issue according to the EFF but it will take a while before it lands on user devices.
There are however some options in regards to Wi-Fi settings on Android devices that lock down the phone at least partially.
Note: The device used to demonstrate this is a Moto G running Android 4.4.2. Menus, names and options may differ depending on the version of Android and the manufacturer of it.
The Wi-Fi Settings
Tap on Settings and then on Wi-Fi in the settings menu. Here you find a list of all wireless access points in the vicinity, and whether your phone is connected to a wireless network at that time.
Locate the settings icon in the lower right corner of the screen, tap on it, and select advanced from the context menu that opens up.
Here you find several interesting options in regards to privacy:
- Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep - The EFF recommends to turn this feature off which will block the history leaking on some -- but not all -- Android devices. It did not work on a Motorola Droid 4 for example as the EFF points out.
- Scanning always available - If turned on, which it is by default, it allows Google's location service and other apps that make use of the feature to scan for networks, even if Wi-Fi is turned off.
Modifying the settings may block the information from being transmitted on some phones but not on all. You may want to consider disabling Wi-Fi whenever it is not in use. While you can do so manually each time, using apps such as Screen Off Wifi Off assist you in this by doing so automatically.
Thanks for the tip Martin.
It is for these kinds of posts that I follow GHacks.
What’s up with the generic comment, are you a bot?
2G?
Where on the planet is that still in use? I was forced to give up using my RAZRV3 years ago because 2G was phased out by AT&T.
Everywhere 3G has been turned off and you don’t have LTE coverage, and believe me there are many developed countries where this is the case and if it weren’t for 2G you wouldn’t even be able to make a phone call.
Maybe I missed it, but I don’t believe tha term “2G” is in the article. Perhaps you are referring to “AGM G2”??
@Martin
Your website has gone insane.
When I the post button I then saw my comment posted on a different article page. When I opened this article again, it is here.
@Tachy @Martin Brinkmann
” Your website has gone insane. ”
Same here. Has happened several times.
@Tachy,
@Martin P.,
For over two weeks now,
I’ve been seeing “Comments” posted by subscribers appearing in different, unrelated articles.
https://www.ghacks.net/windows-11-update-stuck-fixed-for-good/#comment-4572991
https://www.ghacks.net/windows-11-update-stuck-fixed-for-good/#comment-4572951
For the time being,
it would be better to specify the “article name and URL” at the beginning of the post.
@tachy a lot of non-phone devices with a sim in them rely on 2G, at least here in europe.
Usually things reporting usage or errors/alarms on something remote that does not get day to day inspection in person. They are out there in vast numbers doing important work. Reliable, good range. The low datarate is no problem at all in those cases.
3G is gone or on its last legs everywhere, but this stuff still has too much use to cancel.
Anyhow, interesting that they would put that in. I can see the point if you suspect a hostile 2G environment (amateur eavesdroppers with laptop, ranging up to professional grade MITM fake towers while “strangely” not getting the stronger crypto voip 4G because it is being jammed, and back down to something as old ‘stingray’ devices fallen into the wrong hands).
But does this also mean that they have handled and rolled out a fix for that nasty 4G ‘pwn by broadcast’ problem you reported earlier this year? I had 4G disabled due to that, on the off chance that some of the local criminals would buy some cheap chinese gear, download a working exploit and probe every phone in range all over town in the hope of getting into phones of the police.
>”While most may never be attacked in stingrays, it is still recommended to disable 2G cellular connections, especially since it does not have any downsides.”
The downside would be losing connectivity. I spend a lot of time way out in the countryside where there’s often no service or almost none. My network allows 2G, and I need it sometimes. I have an option on the phone to disable 2G, I may do that when I’m in the city and I have good 5G connectivity, but not out in the country.
I would imagine that the stingray exploits, like most of the bad things in this world, are probably things you will run into in the crowded big cities.
I stopped using it in a mobile (Wi-Fi line) environment, so I’m almost ignorant of the actual situation,
But the recent reality in Japan makes me realize that “the infrastructure of the web is nothing more than a papier-mâché fiction”.
https://www.ghacks.net/2023/08/17/google-chrome-to-enable-https-first-by-default-for-all-users/#comment-4572402
It is already beyond the scope of what an individual can do.
What we should be aware of is the reality that “governments and those in power want to control the world through the Web”, and efforts to counter (resist and prevent) such ambitions are necessary.
Why do you want people to disable the privacy features? Hmmmmm?
Now You: do you plan to keep the Ads privacy features enabled?
I’d like to tell you, but apparently if you make a post critical of Google, you get censored. * [Editor: removed, just try to bring your opinion across without attacking anyone]
@Martin
You website is still psychotic. Comments attach to random stories.
@Martin please do fix the comments, it’s completely insane commenting here! :[
@Martin
The comments are seriously messed up on gHacks now. These comments are mixed with the article at the below URL.
https://www.ghacks.net/2023/08/18/android-how-to-disable-2g-cellular-connections-to-improve-security/
And comments on other articles are from as far back as 2010.
What does this article has anything to do with all the comments on this article? LOL I think this Websuite is ran by ChatGPT. every article is messed up. Some older comments from 2015 shown up in recant articles, LOL
The picture captioned “Clearing the Android Auto’s cache might resolve the issue” is from Apple Carplay ;)
How about other things that matter:
Drop survival?
Screen toughness?
Degree of water and dust protection?