After informing Google One users of the upcoming changes, Google confirmed that Your VPN service will be closed on June 20, 2024. He did this with a message that only appears if we open the Google One application on our mobile, so it is possible that many users have not yet realized it.
In its day, Google VPN was launched as one of the best alternatives to protect yourself on the Internet; but it will be eliminated overnight and without much time to find an alternative. The company’s explanation for this 180-degree turn is that “people just weren’t using it.”
A VPN service is able to redirect our connection through the company’s servers, protecting it from spies and attackers. Specifically, Google offered an encrypted connection that prevented certain types of hacker attacks, in addition to adding a layer of anonymity that made it more difficult to track which pages we visited.
The only good news is Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7a, and Pixel Fold mobile users, who will be able to continue using the VPN without problem; In effect, these users received access as part of a promotion that Google must honor if it does not want to be sued. The June update for these phones will insert a new option called “VPN by Google” in the settings to be able to manage and activate the VPN.
By removing VPN, Google is removing a cybersecurity service that perhaps should have become more popular; but the opening ceremony of Google I/O left no doubt: from now on, the company focuses exclusively on AI, since even Android did not have a place at the conference.
Google VPN shutdown notice
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Google’s shift in priorities is evident and has resulted in the shutdown of many apps and services over the past year, from Google Podcasts to Google Fit; a “sacrifice” necessary to reorient the company, with dismissed employees and users of these services as “collateral victims”.
To this we must add that with this closure, the Google One subscription is losing its appeal. In recent months, the subscription service has lost the benefits it had, but the price has remained exactly the same. Currently, the basic Google One subscription only offers expanded storage in Google Drive.
New features (all AI-based) released exclusively on your new Google One AI Premium plan, which costs 120% more (21.99 dollars) than the Google One plan without AI. Google’s goal is obvious: to get users to upgrade to this more expensive plan so they can use Gemini in Gmail and other AI-based features, and Google One’s base plan suffers as a result.
