Public doesn&#x27;t mean free to everybody, it means <i>available</i> to everybody. A public house (as opposed to a private club), aka a pub, is not a place you can hang out whenever, they have hours (they are not &quot;public&quot; at night) and you&#x27;re supposed to buy stuff when you&#x27;re in there.<p>There&#x27;s nothing about password protected wifi that makes it inherently non-public.