Yet another Google product has been binned by the tech firm. Not that it was actually worth using anyway…
When it comes to VPNs, you really only need two things: a rock-solid no-logging policy and the company NOT to be Google. If you can get these things, you’re all set for the most part.
Of course, you’ll also want to use a VPN that is owned by a company outside of The Fourteen Eyes’ jurisdiction for the utmost privacy, otherwise, no logging or not, the feds can snap up your data with a simple subpoena.
Google’s One VPN was a truly terrible product, though. You couldn’t use it to change location, it kept logs (obviously; this is Google we’re talking about here), and it lacked any of the kind of features you’d expect from a modern VPN – stuff like a kill switch and advanced encryption.
Why Google One VPN Shut Down
Google shut its One VPN service down because, shock horror: no one was using it. Given everything we’ve just discussed, that’s easy to see why – even with a paltry $1.99 per month usage charge.
Had it been free, Google might have had more look. But even then, it doesn’t really do anything that you can’t get from something free like Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 app.
So, Google One VPN joins a host of other failed Google projects inside Google’s ever-growing graveyard of failures.
Perhaps its customers were simply spoilt for choice, given this is actually one of three VPN services provided by Google alongside the VPN offerings still available via Google Fi, and Pixel devices from the Pixel 7 on up.
Google mentioned in its shutdown email that the VPN was being phased out to “focus on providing the most in-demand features and benefits,” which may relate to all the Gemini AI stuff that the company is shoving into Google One.
The Verge
What To Use Instead
If you were one of the two or three people using Google One VPN and you’re looking for an alternative, my advice as always is to go with PureVPN – it’s fast, it unlocks Netflix and most other streaming platforms, and it costs next to nothing.
PureVPN is also 100% no-logs and, generally speaking, is one of the fastest VPNs on the market. It’s also great for gamers with supported speeds up to 20Gbps which is around 19Gbps faster than 99.9% of most people’s’ internet connections.
Want something super-secure and based in a country that doesn’t play ball with The Fourteen Eyes? Go with Proton VPN – you can even get it as part of Proton’s awesome Gmail alternative, Proton Mail and, y’know, kills two privacy birds with one stone.
