"People connect and don't even know whose network this is"
Someone connects to the WiFi and... that's it. No welcome message, no terms of use, no idea who's providing the service. They don't even know the network exists as a community project.
A captive portal is the splash page that appears when someone connects to a WiFi network — like in hotels or airports. It can:
- Welcome users and explain what the network is
- Show terms of use or acceptable use policies
- Require basic authentication (a shared password, or name/email)
- Display your organization's logo — visibility matters for sustainability
Work in Progress
This section will introduce captive portals and why they're valuable for community networks beyond just authentication.
Guide reference
For step-by-step captive portal setup, see Guide — Captive Portal.