Google Knows Your Android Passwords

Google may know the Wi-Fi passwords of many of its Android users, but most of those users gave them up willingly for a way to back up data.

The news may have come as a shock to some, who may not have questioned Google's ability to back up all information on an Android device and store it, according to Computerworld. Most people probably like the idea their Android device automatically logs into nearby Wi-Fi hotspots.

However, Google knowing this information could be bad for those who don't want the government to gather any information on them or their Android devices, according to Gizmodo. The passwords and other information would be stored on Google servers and if the government produces a warrant, Google may have to comply.

Despite this worrisome news, users can go into Settings and not choose to back up data by unchecking a box. This stops storing back-up data to your account and deletes any existing back-up files stored by Google, Computerworld reported.
 
This case of information leakage is part of society's trade-off for convenience. Users want to be able to log into nearby Wi-Fi hotspots without having to input data and that means your device has to store passwords. Those passwords are stored on servers by someone and likely can be seen, so keep that in mind if you don't like to spend time typing in passwords.
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