What you need to know
- Google plans to discontinue the VPN service included with Google One subscriptions.
- The company said it found that the Google One VPN was underused and was removing it.
- In particular, Pixel owners and Google Fi subscribers will still have access to their included VPN services.
Google is bundling some virtual private network (VPN) services with its other offerings, but one of them will soon be discontinued. Google One VPN, the VPN service included with all Google One subscription tiers, will be discontinued in the coming months. Luckily, the company won’t be making any changes to the other VPNs it offers through other programs, such as Pixel phone purchases or Google Fi cellular plans.
The move was announced to Google One subscribers on Thursday, April 11, in an email viewed by Android Authority. “As we focus on delivering the most sought-after features and benefits, we are discontinuing free shipping on select print orders through Google Photos starting May 15 and VPN from Google One later this year,” the email said.
Google’s idea with the Google One VPN was to expand its subscription offering while addressing the need for privacy on the web. The feature was originally a perk of the Google One Premium plan, but has been available on all Google One plans since early last year. However, at least according to Google, the function was not very popular.
The company is discontinuing the VPN function [it] “found that people simply weren’t using it,” it said in a statement to 9to5Google.
Google reiterated the need to shift focus to features that Google One subscribers can get the most out of. This is the same reason the company cited when it decided to cut 17 features from Google Assistant in January.
Google is keeping its original promise to owners of Pixel 7 series phones and newer. A separate VPN service called Pixel VPN is included on these devices for five years. Even after Google One VPN is discontinued, Pixel VPN remains available. In fact, Google is expanding Pixel VPN to run on the Pixel 7 series and Pixel Fold without the need for the Google One app. This functionality first appeared on the Pixel 8 series and will also be available on older devices in June.
The VPN included with Google Fi cellular plans is also not affected, meaning there are still some ways to get a VPN service through Google. However, if you rely on the Google One VPN and don’t have a new Pixel or Google Fi service, you’ll have to switch to another provider.