Hotel Wi-Fi is as safe as any public network: every guest shares it, the room-number login doesn't encrypt anything, and the hotel can see which sites you open. Https:// sites stay private on it; for banking and work, a VPN or your phone's own data is safer.
This Network's Address:
216.73.217.32
Columbus, Ohio, United States · Anthropic, PBC
Anthropic, PBC is an ordinary internet provider. Homes, offices and most hotels and cafés look like this from outside, so the name alone can't tell which one you're on. The questions below can.
This Network, Checked
Network owner:
Anthropic, PBC (AS16509)Looks like an ordinary provider: homes, offices, most hotels and cafés.
Provider
VPN or relay:
NoneThe network can see which sites you open, not what's on them.
Off
Wi-Fi or Mobile Data:
checking…
Round Trip:
checking…
Encryption to this site:
TLS 1.3 (HTTP/2)Between your browser and this site, as on any https:// site: the network can't read the page.
Encrypted
Questions Only You Can Answer
Did your device ask for a Wi-Fi password when you joined?The network's own password, not a login page in the browser.
The air between your device and the router is encrypted. Everyone with the same password is inside it too, though: on older (WPA2) networks someone with that password and the right tools can decode other people's traffic.An open network: anything that isn't https:// goes over the air as it is, and anyone nearby can record it. Phones list such networks without a padlock, often with a warning like "Unsecured network".Look at your Wi-Fi list: a padlock next to the network's name means it needs a password.
Did you get the network's exact name from staff, a sign or the airline?
Good. Fake hotspots copy names like "Free_Airport_WiFi" and wait for people to pick theirs.Ask for it. Anyone can name a hotspot after the place, and your device can't tell the real one from a copy. Two networks with almost the same name are a reason to ask.If you picked it from the list because the name fit, ask staff whether it's theirs.
Did a login page ask for the password of another account (Google, Facebook, email) or for card details for free Wi-Fi?
Normal: real login pages ask for a room number, an email address, a seat or booking number, or just a click.Don't type it. Free Wi-Fi has no reason to need your account password, and fake hotspots use such pages to collect logins. If you already did, change that password over mobile data.Fine: many networks have none.
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What This Wi-Fi Can See
Without a VPN
With a VPN
Which sites you open (bank.com, not the pages)
Usually yes
No
What you read and type on https:// sites
No
No
Everything on http:// pages and in old apps
Yes
No
When you're online and how much data you use
Yes
Yes
Your device's Wi-Fi hardware address
Yes (recent phones and laptops show each network a random one)
Yes
You're not on a VPN now: the left column applies.
Who runs hotel Wi-Fi
Most hotels hire an outside company to run the network and its login page, and buy the internet line from an ordinary provider. That's why the network owner above is usually a provider's name, not the hotel's.
The login ties your device to your room and name, so the hotel and that company know which guest used how much data and when, and which sites the device opened.
Why security agencies warn about hotels
The FBI has warned people who work from hotels that hotel Wi-Fi is often weakly secured and shared with strangers, and it has warned about fake software update pop-ups shown to guests on hotel networks. A password printed on the key card keeps out people in the street, not the other guests.
What a web page can't check
Whether the network has a password. Your device knows (the padlock in the Wi-Fi list); a page doesn't.
Whether it's the real network or a copy with the same name.
Whether other devices on it can reach yours. Good public networks keep guests apart from each other; no page can test it.
Who else is connected, and what runs on the router.
How to stay safe on hotel Wi-Fi
Ask the front desk for the exact network name: some hotels have a staff and a guest network side by side.
A cable in the room stops anyone listening over the air, though it's still the hotel's network.
Don't install anything a login page or pop-up offers: update apps from the app store or the maker's site.
For banking, work email and anything with a card number, use your phone's data or a VPN.
Turn off file sharing and set AirDrop to Contacts Only for the stay.
Forget the hotel's network when you check out.
Can the hotel see what I search?
Not the words: Google, Bing and the other search engines use https://, so the hotel sees only that you used google.com and when. On an open network the same goes for people nearby.
Is hotel Wi-Fi safe if it has a password?
Safer: the password encrypts the air between your device and the hotel's router. But every guest gets the same password, so it keeps out the street, not the other guests.
Is it safe to use hotel Wi-Fi for banking?
The bank's site and app are encrypted, so it's usually fine. The risk is a fake hotspot named like the hotel, or a pop-up that isn't from the bank. If in doubt, use your phone's data or a VPN.
