Google One VPN shutting down, Pixel VPN remains

In October 2020, Google One introduced a VPN which later became available on all plans and platforms. Google announced today that Google One VPN will be shutting down in the coming months.

It was initially touted as providing an “extra layer of online protection for your Android phone” and “peace of mind that your data is safe”, with the company publishing a white paper detailing how it works. Additionally, Google had a third-party audit of the system conducted and opened up the client APIs.

At the moment, this VPN is available in the Google One apps for Android and iOS, while Mac and Windows clients are also available. It originally required a Premium plan of $9.99 per month, but was reduced to the $1.99/month offering in March 2023.

Google is now “discontinuing the VPN feature because (they) found that people simply weren’t using it.” The company says 9to5Google that the deprecation will allow the team to “refocus” and “support more in-demand features with Google One.”

Earlier this year, Google One reached 100 million subscribers and CEO Sundar Pichai touted it as a future growth area driven by AI. Today’s change follows this week’s news that AI editing tools in Google Photos will be free in the coming months and will no longer require a subscription except for unlimited use of Magic Editor.

Google One’s VPN will disappear in the coming months, with no specific timeline provided today. Existing users will be directed to third-party VPN alternatives.

Meanwhile, there have been no changes to the free Pixel VPN introduced with the Pixel 7 series in 2022. At the time, availability was guaranteed for five years.

In fact, the big VPN upgrade introduced with the Pixel 8 will come to the Pixel 7, 7 Pro, 7a, and Fold in June. These older Pixel phones will stop using the Google One app and move to an integrated service, meaning there will be no persistent notifications.

The VPN available with Google Fi will also remain available.