I think tbh public wifi and sharing WiFi is rapidly becoming a thing of the past, here anyway.

Most mobile networks here don’t care if you use your data plan for tethering, and most of them offer fairly huge data bundles or unlimited* data, so asking for the WiFi password is a bit old school.

I haven’t used a public WiFi hotspot in quite some time and unless I had some serious issue getting a signal for 4G/5G I just don’t bother using other people’s WiFi if I’m visiting. They’re really isn’t much of a reason to do so anymore, at least in most contexts. There are some exceptions like stone houses and office blocks that managed to turn themselves into a Gaussian cage that’s opaque to radio waves.

I’m paying about €20 an month, which has an unlimited voice, texts and data plan that included a right to implement a fair usage limit if you go over 120GB, but only if you’re deemed to be causing a problem on the network. Basically they don’t give a damn as long as you don’t treat it as your home broadband plan.

So for being out and about I just tether. It’s usually way faster than public WiFi hotspots in cafes, many of which tend to be languishing on old broadband connections.