Android Devices send many Multicast Packets per Second for Chromecast – How to disable it?

June 28, 2014

While tracing/sniffing for something, I mirrored all packets of my mobile phone to Wireshark and I was was really astonished  to see many multicast DNS requests (_googlecast._tcp.local) from my mobile …

googlecast

As you see, these are more than 15 packets per second, which leaded at once to following 3 thoughts:

  • That can’t be good for the battery
  • The mobile is sending this surely not only in my home network but also in hotspot networks … I don’t like that for security/privacy reasons (specially what happens if the phone gets an answer and maybe sends more info about itself)
  • I’m not using Chromecast anywhere

Which leaded at once to the question:

  • How can I disable this?

So I went on a search trough the Internet …. but I was not able to find a solution. So the question to the community .. has someone an idea how I can disable that?

ps: I found only one guy asking the same question in the xda developers forum

 

5 Comments »

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  1. […] per second, which leaded at once to following 3 thoughts: That can’t be good for […], Security Bloggers Network, robert, […]

    Pingback by Security-Vision » Android Devices send many Multicast Packets per Second for Chromecast – How to disable it? — June 28, 2014 #

  2. Hi, did you find some solution for this case?
    I have the same problem. I tried to discover the app who send this multicast, but I guess that It’s on the SO layer. Probably, using the Chromecast SDK, they should encapsulate this multicast call. I don’t know if are something that we can do to disable it, besides to change the SO.
    If you know something, please share with me.
    Thank you.

    Comment by Rafael — July 4, 2014 #

  3. Hi,

    No, didn’t find a solution.

    Robert

    Comment by robert — July 4, 2014 #

  4. Yeah I’m seeing these too. I’d love to know from app (system app?) are these packets originating???

    Comment by BH — December 28, 2014 #

  5. It’s most likely a google service (home).
    It could probably be diabled, but may break functionality.

    Google can use it to discover your location.

    Comment by Denwar — October 27, 2019 #

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