Facebook has announced that its Find WiFi feature is now going global, and will soon be available to all mobile app users around the world.
Facebook began testing a new feature around November last year – helping users find free WiFi hot spots nearby. If you’re always on the lookout for WiFi, the feature is really useful as it lists all free locations on a handy map, giving you directions to go find them. The feature seems to be out of beta testing at last, with Facebook announcing that it will be allowing all mobile app users to make use of it. The feature will be available on iOS and Android.
To see if you have the feature, simply check out the menu in your Facebook app. Note however, that you will need to allow the app to always have access to your location. This may be something many people don’t really like. Then again, if you’re willing to connect to public WiFi, then you’re not particularly privacy or security-conscious anyway.
Obviously, the Find WiFi feature has many benefits for businesses. For one they able to create engagement with users in the nearby area. Also Facebook has been working with Cisco and Netgear to offer free WiFi if users check in to a location via the platform. Facebook wants to be able to connect offline sales to online actions – this may be another way to do it. Businesses are also able to receive user data from these check-ins as well.
Either way, it’s Facebook and businesses that benefit the most from this feature. More people on WiFi means more use of its app – and more use of particular data-hungry aspects of it, like Live.
In any case, helping more people find free WiFi has benefits for its users too.
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