Public WiFi is just that: PUBLIC. It’s NOT PRIVATE.
With public WiFi, other people may be able to intercept your communication. Hackers are known to use public WiFi against people. They listen in to your communication. They even set up their own Public WiFi systems. You may be at a cafe, or an airport. You think you are connecting to the “public” WiFi. Instead, you get conected to the hacker’s WiFi. They may now be able to see everything you do. They may even gain access to your bank account, if you check your account balance, or even if you only check your e-mail. Yes, it’s supposed to be encrypted, safe. But, a good hacker can get around that if you connect using public WiFi.
“Then, what should I do?”
Don’t use it for banking. Don’t use it for shopping. Don’t even use it for e-mail, even if the e-mail is: “I’ll be home in 20 minutes.” If you send that e-mail and a hacker is nearby, they may now have access to your e-mail and be able to access your bank account, social media accounts, and everything else. So, don’t do it.
Feel free to use public WiFi for things like traffic reports and directions, news updates, information on things of interest and anything else that you might discuss with a stranger.
Just don’t use it for anything sensitive and don’t use it to access any of your accounts, including e-mail.