Facebook News & Updates: Social Networking Giant To Help Users Find Wi-Fi Hotspots

It's not always easy to find a place with wi-fi to go online and browse Facebook, but Mark Zuckerberg's social networking company will soon help you do that. Facebook is currently testing a feature that would assist users of its iOS app in locating wi-fi hotspots anywhere.

The service is still in its early testing stage and will be available only in select countries for now, CNET reports. Facebook app users can check if they have the feature by tapping the menu icon at the bottom left section, and then scrolling down until they see "Find Wi-Fi."

Tapping "Enable Find Wi-Fi" will prompt the app to look for free public networks, based on information that local businesses provide on their Facebook pages. As well as showing businesses that offer free wi-fi, Facebook will also conveniently indicate how far it is from the user's location.

Recently, Facebook asked businesses to list wi-fi locations in their physical addresses, and the information they gave is expected to be the wi-fi locator's backbone. Facebook has also encouraged businesses to make free internet available to customers who check in to their pages, as the video below shows.

The wi-fi finder's purpose is to help Facebook users "stay connected to the friends and experiences they care about," a company spokesperson told VentureBeat. Tech experts believe the feature, once rolled out worldwide, would be helpful for Facebook users in developing countries who face exorbitant rates for internet access, as well as travelers who do not want to incur mobile roaming charges.

Facebook's wi-fi locator also has something to do with the company's efforts to promote its live streaming service Facebook Live, according to TNW. Being connected to wi-fi will make streaming live video on Facebook faster and more seamless than through 4G or 5G networks.

While it is already available on Facebook's iOS app in some countries, it is not yet clear if and when the wi-fi locator will also be rolled out for Android users.

Do you have a wi-fi finder on your Facebook app yet? Let us know what you think of it.