Facebook working on public Wi-Fi “radar” for mobile app

Facebook is reportedly toying with ways to let you easily find open public Wi-Fi hotspots in your vicinity. This feature is still in an experimental stage and is currently available in a limited number of regions only.

A new option called “Find Wi-Fi” has been spotted by NextWeb in the latest version of the iOS Facebook app. It is located in the options menu and enabling it displays a map of the user's area with locations and businesses where free Wi-Fi can be accessed. In order to work, the app needs full access to your location.

It is currently unknown when this feature will see a wider roll out, but a Facebook rep has officially confirmed with VentureBeat that the company is working on implementing it to some degree in their mobile app.

The new public Wi-Fi map automatically detects businesses in your vicinity with open Wi-Fi spots, including useful information such as the location's business hours and the name of the available network. There is no information yet regarding how the company may handle potential security issues such as spoofed access points and the like.