Riverpod - ref.onDispose called when object is created, and not when disposed - flutter

Question

I have this ViewModel and a Riverpod provider for it:
final signInViewModelProvider = Provider.autoDispose<SignInViewModel>((ref) {
final vm = SignInViewModel();
ref.onDispose(() {
vm.cleanUp();
});
return vm;
});
class SignInViewModel extends VpViewModelNew {
FormGroup get form => _form;
String get emailKey => _emailKey;
String get passwordKey => _passwordKey;
final String _emailKey = UserSignInFieldKeys.email;
final String _passwordKey = UserSignInFieldKeys.password;
final FormGroup _form = FormGroup({
UserSignInFieldKeys.email:
FormControl<String>(validators: [Validators.required]),
UserSignInFieldKeys.password:
FormControl<String>(validators: [Validators.required])
});
void cleanUp() {
print('cleaning up');
}
void onSubmitPressed(BuildContext context) {
// _saveRegistrationLocallyUseCase.invoke(
// form.control(_self.emailKey).value as String ?? '',
// form.control(_self.passwordKey).value as String ?? '');
}
}
abstract class VpViewModelNew {
VpViewModelNew() {
if (onCreate != null) {
onCreate();
print('creating');
}
}
void onCreate() {}
}
When I navigate to the page that has the signInViewModelProvider, it prints to the console:
flutter: signInPage building
flutter: creating
flutter: cleaning up
Then popping the page from the stack with Navigator.pop() prints nothing.
Then navigating to the page again prints the same 3 lines in the same order.
I expected onDispose to be called after Navigator.pop(), and not when navigating to the page that reads the provider. Why is onDispose being called directly after creation, and not when using Navigator.pop() (when I expected the provider to be disposed of since no other views reference it)?
Edit: I access the provider with final viewModel = context.read<SignInViewModel>(signInViewModelProvider);

Answer 1

I don't need to listen since I don't need to rebuild the page on
change. Is consumer less performant for this?
No, the performance is meaningless, even if it's listening it's not really affecting the performance because as a Provider there is no way to notify (which is not the case with a state notifier or change notifier)
Also if you don't care to listen after the value has been read The auto dispose understand no one is watching it and it disposes, it's better to use context.read when using tap or gestures that modify something

Answer 2

(I realize this is late to the party but maybe it'll help somebody)
The Riverpod docs come out pretty strongly against using read for the reason you said, i.e. performance/rebuilding concerns.
Basically you should always use watch except:
If you want your custom callback function called when it updates (use listen)
If the actual reading is happening asynchronously or in response to user action (like in an onPressed): this is the only time to use read.
If you're having issues with your widgets rebuilding too often, Riverpod has some ways to deal with that that don't involve using read.