A popular hotspot finder app for Android exposed the Wi - Fi network passwords for more than two million networks . The app , downloaded by thousands of users , allowed anyone to search for Wi - Fi networks in their nearby area . The app allows the user to upload Wi - Fi network passwords from their devices to its database for others to use . That database of more than two million network passwords , however , was left exposed and unprotected , allowing anyone to access and download the contents in bulk . Sanyam Jain , a security researcher and a member of the GDI Foundation , found the database and reported the findings to TechCrunch . We spent more than two weeks trying to contact the developer , believed to be based in China , to no avail . Eventually we contacted the host , DigitalOcean , which took down the database within a day of reaching out . “ We notified the user and have taken the [ server ] hosting the exposed database offline , ” a spokesperson told TechCrunch . Each record contained the Wi - Fi network name , its precise geolocation , its basic service set identifier ( BSSID ) and network password stored in plaintext . Although the app developer claims the app only provides passwords for public hotspots , a review of the data showed countless home Wi - Fi networks . The exposed data did n’t include contact information for any of the Wi - Fi network owners , but the geolocation of each Wi - Fi network correlated on a map often included networks in wholly residential areas or where no discernible businesses exist . The app does n’t require users to obtain the permission from the network owner , exposing Wi - Fi networks to unauthorized access . With access to a network , an attacker may be able to modify router settings to point unsuspecting users to malicious websites by changing the DNS server , a vital system used to convert web addresses into the IP addresses used to locate web servers on the internet . When on a network , an attacker also can read the unencrypted traffic that goes across the wireless network , allowing them to steal passwords and secrets . Tens of thousands of the exposed Wi - Fi passwords are for networks based in the U.S. ;