In modern Android versions, the operating system includes a feature known as the “Network Rating Provider.” By default, this is usually set to Google. When your device connects to open, unencrypted public Wi-Fi networks, the OS sends diagnostic information about the network’s quality, speed, and captive portal status back to Google’s servers to crowdsource a global database of Wi-Fi hotspots. While this helps other Android users identify fast public networks, it means your device is continuously transmitting metadata about your location and the specific networks you frequent to a third-party analytics server.
This guide explains how to completely disable the Network Rating Provider system-wide on an Android device, ensuring your phone stops crowdsourcing public Wi-Fi telemetry.
Disable Network Rating Provider System-Wide
To prevent the Android OS from transmitting connection quality metrics, we must explicitly revoke the provider’s authorization within the advanced network settings.
- Open the main Settings app on your Android smartphone.
- Tap on Network & internet (or Connections, depending on your device manufacturer).
- Tap on Internet (or Wi-Fi).
- Scroll down to the bottom of your available networks list and tap on Network preferences (or Advanced settings).
- Locate the setting labeled Network rating provider. It will likely say “Google” underneath it.
- Tap on Network rating provider.
- From the pop-up menu, select None.
Verify the System State
By changing this setting to “None,” you have instantly decoupled your device’s Wi-Fi connection manager from Google’s external telemetry servers. The background daemon responsible for profiling public hotspots is now dormant.
To verify the change is successful, revisit the “Network preferences” menu. The text beneath “Network rating provider” should now display “None.” The next time you connect to an open Wi-Fi network at a coffee shop or airport, your device will evaluate the connection locally but will definitively block any transmission of that network’s SSID, BSSID, or speed metrics back to Google’s crowdsourced database. Your network habits are now strictly private.