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WiFi

Facebook updates feature to help users find free Wi-Fi

WiFi

Facebook updates feature to help users find free Wi-Fi

Social networking site Facebook has announced that it is expanding its ‘Find Wi-Fi’ feature to enable users all over the world find free wireless internet connections.

Facebook made the announcement in a blog post shared by Engineering Director Alex Himel, explaining that it is expanding the service so that users can find Wi-Fi all over the world.

In the modern day, internet users are all encountering ‘first world problems’ such as a lack of 4G connectivity in rural areas, and not being able to connect to a Wi-Fi router in a bid to stop themselves from using up too much mobile data.

In a bit to combat these problems, the social giant has announced that it plans to expand its Wi-Fi feature to include more locations and countries all around the world. Prior to this announcement, the feature had only been available to Facebook users in a select number of nations.

The Find Wi-Fi feature shows users a list of nearby businesses that are offering free connections to the company Wi-Fi for its customers, and lists them on a map for the user to easily find the location of that business. This comes in handy when a user is in an area with poor connectivity or has run out of data in their monthly tariff and needs to connect to the internet, perhaps to send an important email or to check-in somewhere online.

As part of the update, the feature will offer users more information about the listed businesses, and this will include data such as the company’s specialisms, opening hours and, most importantly, the name of the Wi-Fi network.

In order for a company to be listed on this feature, it must have a business Facebook page set up that clearly states that it offers a free Wi-Fi connection to customers.

The update is currently being rolled out on a worldwide scale on both iOS and Android versions of the network’s mobile app. Once a user has updated to the most recent version of the app, they will be able to locate the ‘Find Wi-Fi’ service in the ‘More’ tab in the menu.

Furthermore, users are being warned about the dangers of connecting to public Wi-Fi, especially in terms of inputting personal details and passwords while connected to these networks. A recent study from iPass concluded that public Wi-Fi networks are risky, with coffee shops being described as the most dangerous venues of all for public Wi-Fi.

Alan Littler

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