Google Launches Its Own VPN. An Alternative To Fi For Non-Android Users

Google VPN

In the modern days of internet, using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is already a common practice. What it does, is creating a secure communication from eavesdroppers.

There are a number of VPN services in the market, with many offering their own unique features. And Google here, wants a bit of their pie, by launching its own VPN product, made free of charge to 2 TB Google One cloud storage subscribers, initially for users in the U.S.

Previously, Google does have Google Fi, the company's mobile virtual network operator.

But Fi is only available for subscribers on Android smartphones.

This VPN on the other hand, according to Google, is available on Android, with Google planning to make it also available for iOS, Windows and Mac "in the coming months."

The company also plans to expand it to more countries.

In other words, the VPN is an alternative to Fi, a product aims to make Google's cloud offering a bit more alluring.

On its announcement, Google said that:

"We’ve all done it. You’re sitting in a cafe browsing your favorite online store and you enter your credit card number while connected to an unsecured Wi-Fi network. While convenient, a public Wi-Fi network may be less secure than your personal one. This can put your personal information at risk of theft from hackers."

"To give you peace of mind that your data is safe, we’re announcing the new VPN by Google One on our 2 TB and higher plans to provide an extra layer of online protection [...] ."

This VPN product encrypts "all of your phone’s online traffic, no matter what app or browser you’re using."

And because it is built right inside the Google One app, users can access the VPN with ease.

In addition to this, Google is also rolling out 'Pro Sessions by Google One' with VPN support. With it, user can schedule one-on-one online sessions with a Google staff to learn more about VPNs and how to stay safer online.

Google VPN

It should be noted that people who want to use the VPN need to purchase the 2TB Google One plan, which costs $9.99 a month or $99 per year. What this means, the VPN is not a free VPN.

But in return, Google promised a no-log VPN.

Google said that its VPN will not log any online activity, and this is assured the company in the white paper, and users' data will not be identifiable.

While minimum logging is still required, but network traffic or the IP associated with the VPN will never be logged. IP addresses, bandwidth utilized or connection timestamps, for example, won't be tracked or logged.

As for transparency, Google has also open-sourced the code for the VPN that runs on users' devices. The company has also committed to providing public access to the authentication mechanism running on the server side in 2021.

And to entice people into using its VPN, Google noted that in some cases, VPN providers can still see users' unencrypted traffic.

"Because the VPN provider occupies this privileged position, the user must be able to trust that the VPN provider has strong privacy and security guarantees," said Google about the company's new service.

"With growing demand for better privacy in a mixed landscape of solutions, we have used our expertise in privacy, cryptography, and infrastructure to build a Google-grade VPN that provides additional security and privacy to online connectivity without undue performance sacrifices."

Published: 
03/11/2020