Google has announced that it will be discontinuing the VPN feature included with its Google One subscription-based cloud storage plan this year.

The company sent emails to Google One users to inform them about this change, which will take place later this year. The VPN service will still be available for users with a Pixel 7 or Pixel 8 phone, but it will be removed from other Google One accounts in the coming months.

The Google One VPN was introduced in 2020 as a free privacy feature. However, reviews of the service found it to be lacking compared to other VPN providers. It had limited features and didn’t offer options like selecting VPN protocols or spoofing locations.

Googles response to shutting down google one was:

“We’re refocusing our efforts to support more in-demand features with Google One,” the company stated. “To keep our subscription service fresh, we’re discontinuing the VPN feature, as we found people simply weren’t using it.”

It’s worth noting that Google has a reputation for launching and discontinuing products quickly. This decision aligns with that trend. Other VPN services have also faced challenges, with Atlas VPN being one example. Atlas VPN, with 6 million users, is shutting down due to competition and rising costs. Users of Atlas VPN will be migrated to NordVPN, as the parent company acquired Atlas VPN in 2021.

Overall, the decision to discontinue the Google One VPN is based on low usage and Google’s focus on more popular features within the Google One subscription service.

This is why here at scandisecureVPN we focus on our Nordic family, we believe in giving quality over quantity.

Original piece from PCMAG.