Google One introduced VPN in October 2020 and has since made it available across all plans and platforms. Google announced today that its Google One VPN will end in the coming months.
It was initially touted as providing “an extra layer of online protection for Android smartphones” and “peace of mind that your data is safe,” with the company publishing a whitepaper detailing how it works. . Additionally, Google has undergone a third-party system audit and has open sourced its client API.
Currently, this VPN is available in the Google One app for Android and iOS, as well as Mac and Windows clients. Initially, a premium plan was required for $9.99 per month, which was reduced to $1.99 per month in March 2023.
Google is currently “retiring VPN functionality” [they] It turns out that people simply don’t use it. ” the company says 9to5Google It says the deprecation will allow the team to “refocus” and “support more in-demand features in Google One.”
Earlier this year, Google One reached 100 million subscribers and CEO Sundar Pichai hinted that Google One is a future growth area driven by AI. Today’s changes follow this week’s news that Google Photos’ AI editing tools will become free in the coming months, eliminating the need to save a subscription for unlimited use of Magic Editor.
Google One’s VPN is scheduled to be retired in the coming months, but no specific timeline has been given at this time. Existing users will be directed to third-party VPN alternatives.
Meanwhile, the free Pixel VPN, introduced with the 2022 Pixel 7 series, remains unchanged. At that time, availability was guaranteed for 5 years.
In fact, the massive VPN upgrade introduced with Pixel 8 is also coming to Pixel 7, 7 Pro, 7a, and Fold in June. These older Pixel phones will stop using the Google One app and switch to a built-in service that doesn’t have persistent notifications.
You can still use the VPN available with Google Fi.
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