A couple of years ago, Facebook rolled out a feature called Find Wi-Fi to help you find nearby Wi-Fi hotspots. Now it looks like the company wants to help you manage your Wi-Fi connections.
Code within the Facebook for Android app shows that Facebook is working on a Wi-Fi network management feature. Discovered by researcher Jane Manchun Wong, Facebook describes this new feature by saying, "Let Facebook help you find and connect to fast, reliable nearby networks by managing Wi-Fi on your device."
Once you turn it on in the Find Wi-Fi section of the Facebook app, this new feature asks you to pick your preferred Wi-Fi networks that are found on your device. You can also send feedback about particular Wi-Fi networks by telling Facebook if a connection is too slow, if the network isn't secure, or if the connection drops off.
When this network management feature is turned on, the Facebook app will occasionally send your location to Facebook's servers to retrieve a list of nearby recommended Wi-Fi networks.
Most smartphones have Wi-Fi network management built into their settings, so it might seem kind of strange to see Facebook testing out a Wi-Fi network management feature of its own. The company could be hoping to convince people to use the Facebook app to find nearby Wi-Fi rather than going into their settings app, though, and when they find a good Wi-Fi network, they could use this new Facebook feature to connect to it.
Given Facebook's past issues with data privacy, some folks may not feel comfortable using Facebook to find Wi-Fi, but people who spend a lot of time in the Facebook app anyway might find this feature useful. Because Facebook hasn't actually announced this Wi-Fi network management feature, it's unclear when or if it might launch to the public.