Google One VPN Will Be Gone for Good
Google One VPN is a simple service launched in October 2020 for Android devices carrying the Google One paid subscription plan. Although the service became available later for other devices on Windows and iOS, the VPN is even more basic, lacking features compared to Android versions. Despite the simplicity of just tapping a button, the Google One VPN would serve its mission by protecting your connection through a secure encrypted tunnel. However, Google announced the service will be discontinued soon, according to emails received by and reported from Google One VPN premium users. We will discuss the reasons behind this decision, overview its features, and explore any alternative VPN from Google company further.
Why? Because “people simply weren’t using it”
The company has decided to shut down the service and replace it with more in-demand features for Google One. A Google spokesperson declared that the decision was made due to the people’s unwillingness to use Google One VPN and stated that Google is going to kill the service because people simply weren’t using it. In the following, we will overview the VPN by Google One, its features, pros and cons, and pricing plans.
As stated in the introduction section, the VPN itself offers nothing special but can be an affordable option for those who don’t expect much. The VPN costs $ 1.99$ per month or 19.99$ annually, including 100Gb cloud storage, editing features for Google Photos, and dark web monitoring. One of the big downsides of this VPN is the inability to select the virtual server location and IP address. In other devices than Android, you are also deprived of split tunneling and a kill switch, which protects your privacy in case of a sudden disconnection that will expose your identity to your ISP. So maybe such reasons have made Google revise its plan and discontinue the Google One VPN for good. Nevertheless, Google still offers VPN options for its loyal customers.
Other VPN Services by Google
Other alternative VPNs are still available from Google through Fi Wireless subscriptions and Pixel 7 owners and above. For Google Fi, the prices range from $35$ to $110$ monthly for a two-line account. However, the VPN remains free as a built-in feature for Pixel devices without subscribing to a premium plan.
As the Google One VPN will cease operations by June 20, 2024, we recommend reviewing our selection of top third-party VPN services.
