The kid in Home Alone 3 would have had a heyday with this 21st century version of remoting neighbors TVs…
The Chromecast just became a whole lot more guest (and prankster) friendly. Previously, if a guest in your home wanted to show a video on your Chromecast it involved giving them your Wi-Fi password. With Google’s latest update to the Chromecast firmware, you can now enable Guest Mode which allows any nearby smartphone to connect directly to the Chromecast for video casting purposes.
Below is a video provided by Google that explains how to enable Guest Mode:
I know what your thinking, “does this mean I can now directly connect to the Chromecast so that when traveling I don’t have to go through the hotel’s wi-fi?” Unfortunately, the answer to that question is no. The Chromecast is still connecting and downloading the multimedia content from the wi-fi. A guest’s phone is simply sending a request to the Chromecast to display certain content at which point the Chromecast connects to your wi-fi to deliver the multimedia. I know, unfortunate.
Also, make sure you disable Guest Mode after all of your YouTube video parties. This will prevent that creepy neighbor from interrupting your season finale of Gilmore Girls with a SneakCast (coined and trademarked) of a horror flick such as the latest Miley Cyrus Video. The kid in Home Alone 3 would have had a heyday with this 21st century version of remoting neighbors TVs.
SneakCasting… you heard it first here on TechSmash!
Does SneakCasting freak you out? Or are you a prankster seeing all of the new opportunities this brings to the table. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.