After bringing several exclusive features to its Pixel smartphones, Google has made another gift to customers of its Google One paid storage service: all paying subscribers can now access its VPN, regardless of their plan.
The list of gifts for Google One subscribers is growing! In a blog post from March 8, 2023, the web giant has just announced that users of its paid cloud storage service can now access its VPN even for its cheapest plan of 2 euros per month. Until now you had to pay 10 euros to enjoy it.
Launched in October 2020 in the United States, the VPN (Virtual private network) from Google One works on the same principle as its competitors: the service creates a kind of secure tunnel between your device and the website you are visiting. This virtual private network encrypts your data to reduce the risk of hacking.
However, Google VPN does not allow, like its competitors, to trick the site about your geographic location in order to access a foreign version of Netflix.
22 countries involved, including France and its neighboring countries
Since its launch in France a year and a half ago, this VPN was only available to customers of the 2 TB cloud storage plan (10 euros per month) or to owners of a Google Pixel 7 or 7 Pro. It is now added to the two other plans that Google One offers: the 100 GB one at 2 euros per month and the 200 GB one at 3 euros per month.
According to the blog post, this expansion of the secure network service will be available in the coming weeks in the 22 countries where the VPN is available: in particular in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada, but also in Germany, Italy, the UK, Japan, Mexico and of course the US (full list here).
The service should therefore see millions of new users arrive at once. They can access it on Android, iOS, Windows or Mac. As a reminder, it is also possible to share the VPN with five other people if their Google account is linked to the subscribed Google One account.
A dark web surveillance service
For US users, Google also announces a service of “review on the dark web“. Specifically, this scans the underground web that is not indexed by search engines to determine if some of your personal information is available there. This “dark web reportwill then advise you how to solve this.
These freebies for One subscribers appear to be part of a larger strategy by Google to make its service more attractive and competitive. At the end of February, the company already announced that it would offer the Magic Eraser photo editing tool to all Google One customers, as well as automatic HDR mode in video and free delivery of photos ordered from the Google Store.
Google also joins the packages of one of its main competitors: Apple’s iCloud+, whose “Private Relayoffers internet connection security close to a VPN while being accessible from the first 50 GB subscription level at 1 euro per month.
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