Launched in October 2020, Google One VPN will soon disappear. The service has never been able to convince users to join the famous Google cemetery.
Google celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, and the search giant has multiplied projects in a quarter of a century. Many have worked, allowing the Mountain View firm to become inevitable and its parent company, Alphabet, to be one of the most powerful companies in the world. But Google has also abandoned a lot of projects, prompting the Internet to talk about a real “Google cemetery.” Nearly 300 ideas (applications, services, and products) are accumulating in this cemetery, and it will soon have to make room for the Google One VPN.
Launched in October 2020, this VPN is available via a Google One subscription and is about to gain its reverence. Evoked by the Android Authority website, the information was subsequently confirmed by Google at 9to5Google. The company explains to our colleagues that they stopped the charges after finding that “users simply did not use it.” However, the One subscription has conquered 100 million users.
The Rise and Fall of Google One VPN
First offered on the most expensive formula of Google One, it then made its appearance in all paid offers. The company even decided to offer it on iOS in 2022, as well as on Mac and Windows in addition to Android. It is available in about twenty countries, including France, and operates in most parts of the world.
An advantage for subscribers in order to better protect them against hacking and online surveillance. Google highlighted the fact that it would benefit from better protection on unsecured networks and hide its IP address once the VPN is enabled. Google’s arrival in this segment was surprising due to the company’s reputation for privacy protection and respect. However, this VPN is very basic, far from what the best VPNs on the market offer. It must be said that there is fierce competition in this segment.
Google explains that this decision will allow the team to “refocus” on other tasks and “support more demanded features with Google One.” The company does not mention a closure date, but the closure will take place over the course of the year. A few users of the service will be redirected to other VPN solutions.
Google does not completely stop its VPN activity.
The end of Google One VPN does not mean the end of the free VPN offered on Pixel smartphones by the Pixel 7. Finally, the VPN built into Google Fi will also remain functional.
The end of VPN by Google will come a few months after that of Google Podcasts. Again, the application never met the expectations of success.
