(Credit: PCMag/Google)
UPDATE 7/10: Google's VPN will shut down on June 20. As a consolation prize, Google will make its dark web reports, previously only available for One subscribers, available to anyone with a Google account for free.
Original Story:
The Google Graveyard has claimed another victim. This time, the company is pulling the plug on the VPN that's included with Google One, its subscription-based cloud storage plan.
The company this week sent emails to Google One users, notifying them about the VPN’s demise, which will happen sometime later this year. As for why, Google cited lack of usage.
“We're refocusing our efforts to support more in-demand features with Google One,” the company tells PCMag. “To keep our subscription service fresh, we’re discontinuing the VPN feature, as we found people simply weren't using it.”
In addition, Google notes that other VPN services are already available on its app store.
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The VPN service will remain for those with a Pixel 7 or Pixel 8 phone. Google didn't say when it'll be removed from other Google One accounts, but expect it to happen in the coming months.
The company first added a VPN to Google One in 2020 as a free privacy feature. But our review of the VPN service found it to be lacking compared with the competition. Missing features included the ability to select your VPN protocol and to spoof your location, resulting in a fairly bare-bones VPN that Google probably viewed more as an add-on than a full-fledged service.
So the shutdown isn’t a total surprise. Still, the move perpetuates Google’s reputation for launching products and services and killing them in record time. (See Stadia and Google Podcasts.)
It's been a rough year for VPNs. Atlas VPN, a service with 6 million users, is also shutting down, citing competition and rising costs. The company will sunset the service on April 24 and migrate users to NordVPN, whose parent company acquired Atlas VPN in 2021.