New Google App Will Let You Bypass Wi-Fi Hotspot Login Screens


File this one under “simple, but handy” – according to Engadget, Google is working on a new application that will allow you to bypass those annoying but necessary wifi hotspot login screens that are way too common on Google owned public networks. According to the report, the application is in the fairly late stages of development and is currently undergoing beta testing at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View for both iOS and Android.

According to the story, Google may be considering rolling out the service alongside a potential rollout of Google  Wi-Fi hotspots in all of the 7,000 Starbucks coffee shops across the nation. Customers would simply need to walk into a Starbucks – or any of Google’s other currently existing owned public hotspots – with their iPhone or Android smartphone, connect to the Wi-Fi, and let Google’s new login screen bypass service work its magic. Authentication could be handled on a network-by-network basis on Google’s servers, guaranteeing your device is trusted and always authenticated on the network from that point forward.

Of course, all of this is just rumor at the moment – even Engadget remains unsure as to whether or not the service will ever actually see the light of day. Google, like other massive companies, quite often play with the notion of innovative new software solutions and services that get the axe before ever seeing a public debut. But considering how handy and relatively simple this new service sounds, I remain hopefully that this is one we’ll be hearing more about on an official level in the coming weeks and months; goodness knows I’m tired of seeing that hotspot login screen at my local Starbucks.