what you need to know
- Google plans to shut down the VPN service included with Google One subscriptions.
- The company said it found Google One VPN to be underused, so it was removed.
- It’s worth noting that Pixel owners and Google Fi subscribers can still access its included VPN service.
Google bundles some virtual private network (VPN) services with its other products, but one of them is going away. Google One VPN (the VPN service included with all Google One subscription levels) will be shutting down in the coming months. Fortunately, the company won’t be making any changes to the other VPNs it offers through other plans, such as Pixel phone purchases or Google Fi cellular plans.
Android Authority informed Google One subscribers of the move via an email on Thursday, April 11. The email states: “In order to focus on delivering the most popular features and benefits, we will stop offering free shipping on some print orders on Google Photos starting on May 15th, and on VPN by Google later this year. One offers free shipping.”
Google launched Google One VPN with the idea of enhancing its subscription services while meeting the need for online privacy. The feature was originally a perk on the Google One Premium plan, but since early last year it has been available on all Google One plans. However, at least according to Google, the feature isn’t all that popular.
The company is “discontinuing VPN functionality because [it] Found out people weren’t using it at all,” according to a statement provided to 9to5Google.
Google once again reiterated the need to shift its focus to features that Google One subscribers can take full advantage of. This is the same reason the company gave when it decided to cut 17 Google Assistant features in January.
Regardless, Google is delivering on its original promise to owners of the Pixel 7 series phones and newer. A standalone VPN service called Pixel VPN has been included on these devices for five years. Even though Google One VPN is discontinued, Pixel VPN is still available. In fact, Google is expanding Pixel VPN so that it can work on the Pixel 7 series and Pixel Fold without the Google One app. The feature first appeared on the Pixel 8 series and rolled out on older devices in June.
VPNs included with Google Fi cellular plans are also not affected, which means there are still several ways to get VPN service through Google. However, anyone relying on Google One VPN and not having new Pixel or Google Fi service will need to switch to another provider.